Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson paused a planned increase in police CCTV cameras around the city out of fear they could be used to target illegal immigrants or erode civil liberties.
During a Thursday press conference, the Democrat said the city will conduct a data and privacy audit while the camera expansion is paused.
‘There’s no doubt that these cameras make it easier to solve some crimes, including serious ones like homicides, but also, cameras are not the one key to making our neighborhoods safe,’ Wilson said.
‘On the other hand, there are legitimate concerns about privacy over surveillance and potential misuse of surveillance technologies.’
She spoke about escalating immigration enforcement in cities such as Minneapolis and vowed to disable all surveillance cameras in the city if agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) begin similar activity there.
Seattle is a sanctuary city, meaning municipal agencies are required to limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities. For instance, city employees and police officers cannot ask people what their immigration status is, nor can they provide ICE access to local jails.
‘While it is already policy that [the Seattle Police Department] may not share information with ICE absent a court order, I am also directing SPD to immediately inform the mayor and council if we learn of any information sharing with ICE of any kind, even if that information is unrelated to the CCTV program,’ Wilson said.
Wilson, who is not even three months into her term as mayor, is walking a political tightrope.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson (pictured during Thursday presser) will not go ahead with a planned police CCTV camera expansion, disappointing business owners who wanted extra security. Part of her rationale was that the new cameras could be misused by federal immigration authorities
At the same time, Wilson refused demands from her supporters to shut down all 62 cameras the city is currently using, acknowledging they are crucial in solving crimes
Wilson self-describes as a democratic socialist, which has won her far-left base. Her supporters have called on her to shut down more surveillance cameras to combat potential misuse by federal authorities.
Seattle has been the epicenter for some of the rowdiest anti-ICE protests in the country. Demonstrators have gathered outside the city’s federal building multiple times since Donald Trump began his mass deportation agenda.
On the other side of the security camera issue is law enforcement and businesses, who argue getting rid of them would lead to more crimes going unsolved. Businesses with public-facing storefronts in particular supported the camera expansion.
Jon Scholes of the Downtown Seattle Association and Erin Goodman of the Sodo Business Improvement Area wrote Wilson a letter arguing for the expansion just before her announcement.
‘By deploying new technology with robust safeguards, the City of Seattle can further strengthen a balanced, accountable, and community-centered approach to public safety,’ the two wrote.
Perhaps disappointing those who elected her for her stance on privacy, Wilson refused to turn off the 62 cameras the city already uses.
The one exception is a camera that is pointing toward a clinic providing reproductive health services and a facility that provides gender-affirming care. This camera, she said, will be disabled.
‘I have confirmed that SPD’s current practice is to mask or blur those locations, but until we’ve completed a comprehensive security audit and have stronger safeguards in place, I don’t believe it’s worth taking that risk,’ she said.
Seattle has been the epicenter for some of the most rowdy anti-ICE protests (Pictured: Demonstrators light a fire outside the federal building in downtown Seattle
Pictured: Protestors hold up a stop ICE sign after being removed from a public event by Seattle police on March 19
Seattle is already a sanctuary city, meaning municipal agencies are required to limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities
She is also going ahead and installing more security cameras in the stadium district ahead of the World Cup this summer. Though, she is not going to turn them on unless there is a ‘credible threat’.
No definition has been established for what would qualify as a credible threat, she said.
Wilson has said the city will be disabling technology police use to automatically read license plates.
This tech is currently installed on roughly 400 police patrol and parking enforcement vehicles, according to the Seattle Times.
She did this because the state legislature recently passed a bill limiting the use of automated license plate readers (ALPRs) to felony investigations, while also requiring most data to be deleted within 21 days.
Until the city can adhere to the new regulation, which is expected to be signed by Governor Bob Ferguson in the near term, Wilson said existing ALPRs need to be taken out of service.
