Today Councilmember Bob Kettle (District 7) issued the following statement related to a letter sent by his office to Mayor Katie B. Wilson calling on her to turn on the City’s closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras. The letter notes that the mayor’s decision to “pause” the rollout of the cameras is inconsistent with the City ordinances that created the program.

“On Monday, I sent a letter to Mayor Wilson alerting her that her decision to ‘pause’ the City’s CCTV crime prevention program is not contemplated by the ordinances passed by the City Council that authorize and appropriate funds for this public safety initiative. To be clear, we explicitly wrote protections into the law to safeguard Seattleites in the event of a federal breach, specifically regarding immigration enforcement, reproductive health, and gender-affirming care.

“I strongly urge the mayor to heed the growing calls from individual councilmembers and the community to turn the Stadium District cameras on. Seattle is the only one of the 11 host cities without a fully active CCTV system. Leaving this vulnerability unaddressed is an unwarranted and reckless risk to public safety. I urge her to take immediate steps to provide local police with the tools they need to protect our community and the hundreds of thousands of visitors arriving for the games in less than two weeks.”

Background

Councilmember Kettle’s letter follows issues raised around the idea of a credible threat warning, and a public plea at last week’s Public Safety Committee meeting by Councilmember Rob Saka (District 1) to switch the cameras on for the World Cup events in Seattle. He noted his experience participating in the 2013 Boston Marathon which suffered a major terrorist attack. Cameras were used to apprehend the suspects in the case.

The Seattle Police Department’s Real-Time Crime Center has 62 CCTV cameras located in three areas: downtown, along Aurora Avenue, and in the Chinatown International District. In the fall of 2025, the City decided to expand the CCTV program into three additional neighborhoods, including the Stadium District.

Since its launch in April 2025, the Real-Time Crime Center has helped solve at least 561 violent crime cases citywide through the end of February 2026. Police attribute recent successful investigations, including the arrest of two suspects for the April 2026 assault of a 77-year-old military veteran, to the use of this technology. In March, Mayor Wilson announced plans to pause the expansion of the CCTV program pending the completion of a privacy and data governance audit. Mayor Wilson declared that installation of the cameras in the Stadium District would continue, but that they would not be turned on except in response to a credible threat.

# # #