ACLU of Washington comment on the City of Seattle expediting a proposed program to deploy a CCTV network and a Real Time Crime Center system to surveil city neighborhoods

SEATTLE – Seattle City Council and Mayor Harrell’s office have been expediting consideration of a program to install CCTV cameras in multiple city neighborhoods, along with a Real Time Crime Center (RTCC), over the objections of community members and technology experts. The  system would enable the city to collect far more video than ever before and combine it with incoming data from multiple sources to facilitate a level of surveillance that the city has not previously been subjected to. Furthermore, the mass collection and out-of-state storage of this data would endanger many vulnerable people in Seattle and circumvent existing protections enshrined in state law. These include prohibitions on using state resources for federal immigration enforcement (Keep Washington Working Act) and protections for people who visit Washington to obtain abortions or gender affirming care (shield law).
 
Tee Sannon, ACLU of Washington technology policy director, had the following reaction:

“We are deeply concerned about the City’s efforts to deploy CCTV cameras and real-time crime center (RTCC) software despite evidence that these technologies do not reduce violent crime and disproportionately harm communities of color. SPD’s use of RTCC software would make it possible for ICE and out-of-state agencies to access data to arrest immigrants and prosecute people coming to Seattle for reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare while bypassing state protections. The safeguards offered by SPD will not be sufficient in preventing these harms. Despite these serious risks, the proposals are being rushed without full consideration of the Community Surveillance Working Group’s and the public’s concerns. Seattle deserves public safety solutions that work, not empty promises at the cost of civil liberties and the well-being of the city’s most marginalized communities.”