(The Center Square) – The Seattle City Council handed sweeping new powers to Mayor Katie Wilson on Tuesday that allow her to pause surveillance camera programs if she thinks the data could be misused.
Wilson already paused a program on March 19 that collects data from automatic license plate readers, or ALPRs, mounted on the Seattle Police Department’s vehicles. Her directive also paused a 65-camera expansion that the council approved last year for Seattle’s closed-circuit television, or CCTV, network.
Some people have raised concerns about the order ahead of Seattle’s FIFA World Cup games in June.
The democratic socialist publicly opposed the expansion during her campaign last year, citing concerns about immigration enforcement and privacy for transgender individuals. The ordinance passed Tuesday expands the situations that could trigger a 60-day pause of the surveillance program for these groups.
“We don’t want data that is collected through ALPR to be used against our residents for immigration action, reproductive health care or gender affirming care,” Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck said Tuesday. “We’ve seen data sharing issues with ALPR systems, and I believe, taking this action today to amend the ALPR program, to build in this safeguard, is an important measure and an important step.”
The council, when approving the CCTV expansion last year, already included a provision requiring a 60-day pause if the city receives a warrant for data related to civil immigration enforcement. The ordinance passed Tuesday expanded that trigger to the ALPR program as well, creating a degree of uniformity.
The ordinance also establishes a trigger for when Seattle receives subpoenas for CCTV and ALPR data related to reproductive or gender-affirming health care, and another that Wilson could personally pull.
That trigger requires a data collection pause if the mayor and police chief both determine that “data is being used, or potentially will be used, to track individuals” for immigration enforcement or those who may be seeking an abortion, puberty blockers or other gender-affirming and reproductive health care.
The ordinance requires Wilson to document her and the chief’s determination in a letter to the council.
“This piece of legislation is important in ensuring that our ALPR program and our CCTV program … are in sync in the event of an intrusion,” Councilmember Bob Kettle said Tuesday before voting in support.
Kettle confirmed that Seattle has yet to receive a subpoena for either of the surveillance programs.
SPD launched its ALPR program in 2021, before the council expanded it in 2024 and created the city’s Real Time Crime Center, which uses the ALPR and CCTV data to assist law enforcement around Seattle.
Data suggests that SPD is “three times more likely” to arrest a suspect when working with the RTCC.
Wilson’s March 19 order paused the ALPR program altogether until the city aligns its policies with the state, which just adopted new ALPR guidelines last month. It also paused the council-approved CCTV expansion, while leaving most of Seattle’s existing CCTV cameras operational for the RTCC to use.
The only existing camera that Wilson turned off faced a reproductive and gender-affirming care facility.
She allowed the cameras slated for installation around the Stadium District to proceed with the World Cup coming up, but directed staff to keep them off unless there is a “credible threat.” Kettle issued a statement last Friday raising caution about the order without taking a strong stance against Wilson.
“First, it is important to know that I support an audit of how ALPR and CCTV work through Seattle’s Real-Time Crime Center,” he wrote. “However, declining to turn on the Stadium District CCTV cameras without evidence of a ‘credible threat’ is a decision I do not support. Too many instances of terrorism in the past thirty years have not had adequate intelligence of a credible threat prior to those attacks.
“I do support the Mayor performing her due diligence,” Kettle continued. “There is always room for more accountability and privacy protections, [but] we cannot let our desire to improve unnecessarily limit our ability to protect our communities and the projected 750,000 visitors we’ll see for these events.”
The Downtown Seattle Association and other groups also asked Wilson to reconsider in a recent letter.
“Continue funding, maintaining, and thoughtfully expanding Seattle’s public safety camera network, and Real-Time Crime Center,” the groups wrote. “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 result will be a safer, healthier, and more vibrant Seattle for all.”
Wilson and the Seattle Police Officers Guild didn’t respond to requests for comment before publishing.
