Controversy continues to surround CCTV cameras in Seattle

SEATTLE - Look up, and you may see a CCTV camera placed throughout the city of Seattle. Right now, the city operates 62 cameras across parts of downtown, Aurora Avenue north, and the Chinatown International District. 

While many believe they're a vital tool to help solve crimes, others have made it clear that they have privacy concerns.

On Tuesday, the Seattle City Council passed an ordinance related to the collection of surveillance data. The ordinance specified conditions for a mandatory 60-day pause in data collection for Seattle Police Department Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) and Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) systems.

What they're saying:

Twenty-one people signed up to give public comments during Tuesday’s city council meeting. Those who spoke about the CCTV cameras were against them.

"I’m demanding that Mayor Katie Wilson follow through on her campaign promises and turn off all the cameras’ people put faith in mayor Wilson, we told people things would be different this time. These cameras will not only endanger members of our community, but this backtracking will lead members to question if it was worth volunteering for you at all," one speaker said.

"SPD won’t keep us safe, surveillance will not keep us safe, we the people will keep us safe," another speaker said during public comment.

FOX 13 also talked with the Transit Riders Union ahead of Tuesday’s vote. They said the organization’s main concern with the city’s program is the implementation, and the vendor. They’re also concerned that what’s captured could be misused by federal authorities.

"The community in general, wants to turn these cameras off. They're upset about the way that they were forced through the council, first as a small pilot and then immediately expanded before the completion of the study on their efficacy," said Noah Williams with the Transit Riders Union.

The debate surrounding the potential of federal authorities misusing the information was also discussed at the last meeting.

"We do not want data that is collected through ALPR to be used against our residents for immigration action, reproductive health care or gender affirming care, that is not the intended use of this technology," said Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck. 

The other side:

However, Seattle Police Department has credited the cameras in the past with helping solve crimes, and says footage captured can be viewed live to help officers respond to 911 calls.

Earlier this month, the department released some new data showing officers and detectives are three times more likely to arrest a suspect when working with the real time crime center.

It went on to say, technology used by the center, including CCTV cameras "deliberately concentrated in areas affected by violent crime."

What's next:

Earlier this month though, Mayor Katie Wilson announced she’s pausing the use of surveillance cameras including license plate readers while the programs go through a review.

One exception is the cameras going up in the stadium district ahead of the World Cup. The mayor says they will not be turned on, unless there is a credible threat.

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