SEATTLE — As it stands right now, Seattle will be the only FIFA World Cup host city to not have it’s own CCTV cameras on around stadiums where the matches are being held, according to a letter from City Councilmember Bob Kettle to Mayor Katie Wilson.
“Leaving this vulnerability unaddressed is an unwarranted and reckless risk to public safety,” Kettle said in a statement about his letter.
In March, Wilson paused the expansion of three networks of CCTV Cameras and Flock Automated License Plate Reader cameras: in Capitol Hill, the Central District, and Stadium District, citing concerns that federal law enforcement may be able to access the footage via the servers its stored on and pointing to a case reported by 404 Media which found law enforcement in Texas used ALPRs tracked a woman down who was seeking an abortion.
Kettle claims Wilson doesn’t have the “authority” to pause the expansion of the cameras pointing to two city council actions that, created guidelines for how the cameras can be paused when only the Mayor and Police Chief say it should be paused.
“There is no authority granted via the authorizing ordinance or SIR for the Mayor to pause the program beyond those expressly listed.” Kettle’s letter read.
Saka sees the measures passed by Council last year as sufficient in addressing privacy concerns.
“We baked in very robust privacy controls and safeguards into this legislation to prevent the misuse that govern the collection, use, and sharing that information.” Saka said.
Saka isn’t “hanging his hat” on cameras preventing crime, but says when he finished the Boston Marathon in 2013, he remembers the bombs going off and the cameras playing a role in tracking down the suspects.
“I also know that those cameras greatly accelerated the pace and the quality of that investigation and the manhunt to bring those responsible for those tragic events to justice,” Saka said.
Kettle pointed to 561 “violent” cases, including the assault of a 77-year-old military veteran as cases CCTV cameras helped solve.
Wilson’s office disagrees with Kettle’s legal review about the authority to pause the ordinance, saying privacy concerns are her priority.
“The Mayor’s position is unchanged. Per our legal review, we believe council has the authority to pause the use of adopted surveillance technology but cannot require its use. The Mayor is ensuring that our use of surveillance technology is protective of civil rights, liberties, and privacy and provides sufficient data privacy safeguards. The Mayor has a duty to make sure our use of these technologies is responsible.” A statement from the Mayor’s office read.
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