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Look up: Seattle cops may
soon be watching
Jennifer Sullivan
Seattle
Times
Friday September 7, 2007
Seattle
police may turn to private security cameras around the downtown
business core to help watch for assaults, drug deals and other
crimes.
Following the lead of many other U.S. cities, police and the
Downtown Seattle Association are examining the creation of a surveillance
system that would allow officers to track live video footage from
security cameras on and around downtown buildings.
But the idea has been sharply criticized by privacy advocates.
The video would serve as additional eyes for police, who are
facing increased violence in areas near Westlake Center and Third
Avenue and Pine Street, proponents say.
"I think we're a little bit behind the curve compared to
other cities," said David Dillman, vice president of operations
for the Downtown Association, which promotes the development of
the urban core. "It's another resource. We still have limited
capacity to put police out on the street."
(Article continues below)
Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said he has seen camera-surveillance
programs work in Chicago and London and believes they're something
every police department should consider.
"It is certainly of great interest, particularly downtown,"
Kerlikowske said. "It would be foolish of a police department
not to explore it."
But creation of such a program would likely face fire from the
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other groups that fear
such surveillance could lead to an erosion of privacy.
Last month, an ACLU report on the use of camera surveillance
by police in California concluded that video surveillance does
not deter crime. The group urged California cities to stop deploying
surveillance cameras in public places.
"The use of surveillance cameras, unfortunately, comes at
the expense of proven crime-reduction measures such as better
lighting, foot patrols, and community policing. In this sense,
throwing money at video surveillance actually detracts from law
enforcement's efforts to reduce crime," said Mark Schlosberg
of the ACLU of Northern California, a co-author of the report.
Moving crime around?
Doug Honig, spokesman for the ACLU in Seattle, said that "public
surveillance cameras serve mainly to move crime from one area
to another."
"Mainly what they capture is the innocent activities of law-abiding
citizens," Honig said.
He said the cameras may occasionally capture criminal activity,
but "they're not solving a crime."
Beth Givens of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a San Diego
organization that advocates on behalf of consumers and their personal
information, told The San Diego Union-Tribune last month that
she has worried about government surveillance for years.
"Government agencies do not have a clean record when it
comes to surveillance abuses, going back decades," Givens
said.
"Without strong policies and effective oversight, it's a
given that abuse will occur."
While Seattle police are not considering installing their own
cameras, allowing officers to view video from privately owned
cameras would likely raise similar concerns.
Kerlikowske agrees the issue could be thorny. He also said the
ACLU report is correct in saying that closed-circuit surveillance
systems could be abused; he's heard of the systems being used
to ogle women.
Kerlikowske said closed-circuit systems often work better in
cities where violence is rampant, but he stands behind the city
working closely with businesses and security companies to track
crime.
Security cameras are in use at most downtown skyscrapers and
businesses and are monitored by private security firms, police
said.
Dillman said that last year the Downtown Association obtained
bids for a closed-circuit camera system along Pike and Pine streets
between First and Fourth avenues.
He said it has appropriated $50,000 and is still deciding on
technology, the exact location of cameras and who will be assigned
to monitor the cameras.
Even if police decide not to take part, the association still
plans to monitor crimes through video surveillance.
He said Downtown Association members will meet in the next few
weeks with police, Bentall Capital (owners of the Century Square
high-rise), Macy's (whose local flagship store is on Pine Street
between Third and Fourth avenues), and members of a Belltown neighborhood
group to talk about the closed-circuit camera system.
"I think you would have a coordinated camera program monitored
by law enforcement that would be able to be focused on the activity
that we see taking place in the Pike-Pine corridor," Dillman
said.
"It takes a while to put all of this in place. Other cities
have spent millions of dollars, and we were working on a budget."
In the meantime, Seattle police Officer Erik Warner said he is
trying to compile a list of all downtown properties with video
surveillance and determine their security capabilities. Warner,
who has picked up the task as part of his role with the West Precinct
community police team, said a camera system would make it easier
for detectives to know where to retrieve evidence after a crime
has occurred.
Sgt. Paul Gracy, who oversees West Precinct community police
team officers, envisions a police officer being assigned to watch
what is broadcast on the screen. When a crime is committed, the
officer would then dispatch patrols via cellphone.
"We're trying to do stuff to make people safe," Gracy
said.
No privacy expectation
King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Ellen O'Neill-Stephens said
she is working with the department to create a policy for officers
who monitor live video surveillance as part of their regular patrol
beat.
"Do you have an expectation of privacy of what happens out
in public? You do not," she said.
If Seattle does allow officers to monitor live video surveillance,
it will join San Francisco, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Indianapolis
and many other cities that use video footage to strengthen their
patrolling abilities.
The ACLU, in its August report, recommended that before purchasing
surveillance cameras, local governments evaluate other crime-reduction
measures.
The report also suggested that cities put the surveillance-camera
concept up for debate.
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