Seattle wants to tap into residential security camera footage to aid police investigations.
The Seattle Police Department recently launched Connect Seattle, a new voluntary registry program designed to create an “interactive map of security cameras” accessible to authorized SPD investigators.
Under the program, residents can register their indoor and outdoor security cameras via a secure web portal. If a crime or incident occurs nearby, SPD may contact registered camera owners by email and request relevant footage. Participation is voluntary, and owners can decline any request.
Importantly, registering does not grant SPD the ability to access live video feeds or connect directly to the camera systems.
SPD received authorization for the program last year as part of the city’s Crime Prevention Technology Pilot. It began emailing select neighborhoods last week with a link to the registration portal.
SPD already uses evidence from cameras when they are located while canvassing a crime scene, according to a spokesperson. The new program is a way to let police know that you have access to video and you might be willing to share.
It’s the latest attempt by SPD to integrate surveillance video into public safety tools amid debates over privacy and concerns about federal overreach.
The system is integrated with SPD’s new high-tech operations center, known as the Real Time Crime Center, inside its police headquarters in downtown Seattle.
The RTCC pulls live footage and data from surveillance cameras and other sources into a centralized command room staffed by analysts up to 20 hours a day.
- It supports ongoing investigations by pushing video and incident data directly to patrol units and detectives.
- Analysts can provide live updates and still images of suspects, a capability SPD says helps support its “precision policing” model.
- In just under two months, the system was used in 600 incidents and is actively aiding 90 investigations, according to city officials at a press event in July.
The RTCC takes advantage of new police-owned CCTV cameras in the downtown core, along Aurora Ave., and in the Chinatown-International District. Police said the RTCC helped apprehend a suspect following a shooting early Sunday in the Chinatown International-District.
Earlier this month the City Council approved the use of more cameras in three other areas, as well as access to 145 traffic cameras for the RTCC.
Critics, including Seattle mayoral candidate Katie Wilson, have raised concerns about the federal government using surveillance footage to target immigrants. Critics also argue CCTV cameras do little to prevent crime and risk violating civil rights.
SPD said federal agencies will not have access to the new registry or private resident videos without a warrant.
SPD notes that registry information and shared footage could be subject to disclosure under Washington’s public records law. Video shared with SPD may be requested once an investigation is closed.
Axon is serving as the software provider for the new program and the RTCC broadly.
Other cities, including nearby Auburn and Kent, have adopted similar camera registry programs.
Last year Amazon-owned Ring stopped allowing police departments to request doorbell camera footage from users. But earlier this year it debuted a similar program called Community Requests in partnership with Axon that lets police post public requests for video footage.
Ring previously in 2021 set a rule to make any police requests for video footage publicly visible.
Ring founder Jamie Siminoff, who recently returned as CEO, told CNBC this week that Ring allows police to “request footage from people in a super privacy centric, anonymous way that keeps their privacy.”
Ring on Tuesday rolled out a slate of new camera devices and improved video quality technology, along with a new community feature to help find lost pets.
