BLOCK THE SHOT! Mayor Wilson, cover police cameras to show they’re actually “off”
The Issue
Sign this petition asking Mayor Wilson to BLOCK THE SHOT of all police surveillance cameras that have been "turned off".
On March 19, 2026, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson announced that the city would pause the expansion of the Real Time Crime Center (RTCC), an SPD pilot program that began in April 2025. Citing ongoing security concerns, the Mayor commissioned a “privacy and data governance audit” and said that while existing cameras would remain on, new cameras would not be installed until the city had taken significant steps to strengthen policy, with two exceptions:
“First, given the unique nature of the upcoming World Cup and current geopolitical situation, I have chosen to move forward with the installation of the cameras in the stadium district slated for this spring. However, they will not be turned on and will not be connected to the RTCC unless we are aware of a credible threat that warrants such action, and they will be turned off once that threat subsides.
And second, I am turning off one currently installed camera which has a view of a facility that provides reproductive health care and gender affirming care. I have confirmed that SPDs current practice is to mask or blur those locations. But until we’ve completed a comprehensive security audit and have stronger safeguards in place, I don’t believe it’s worth taking that risk.”
We agree with the Mayor, the risk of this data falling into the wrong hands is too high. That’s why we are calling on Mayor Wilson to block the shot!
On July 7th, 2026, Mayor Wilson announced that all of the police surveillance cameras in the Stadium District had been turned off. We applaud her immediate action to follow-through on her commitment, but can clearly see the cameras are still plugged-in to power supply. If the cameras can easily be turned off remotely, they can quite easily be turned back on remotely.
Residents of Seattle are already concerned that these cameras will not remain off. All installed cameras that are "turned off" must be physically covered or show the cord is unplugged, so that the public can be certain the cameras are not continuing to surveilling the public. And more importantly, we call for the 22 camera units (5 cameras each) in the Stadium District to be uninstalled and removed immediately. Public trust needs to be rebuilt. Take the cameras down now!
Tell Mayor Wilson to BLOCK THE SHOT!
And get further engaged with Community Not Cameras
527
The Issue
Sign this petition asking Mayor Wilson to BLOCK THE SHOT of all police surveillance cameras that have been "turned off".
On March 19, 2026, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson announced that the city would pause the expansion of the Real Time Crime Center (RTCC), an SPD pilot program that began in April 2025. Citing ongoing security concerns, the Mayor commissioned a “privacy and data governance audit” and said that while existing cameras would remain on, new cameras would not be installed until the city had taken significant steps to strengthen policy, with two exceptions:
“First, given the unique nature of the upcoming World Cup and current geopolitical situation, I have chosen to move forward with the installation of the cameras in the stadium district slated for this spring. However, they will not be turned on and will not be connected to the RTCC unless we are aware of a credible threat that warrants such action, and they will be turned off once that threat subsides.
And second, I am turning off one currently installed camera which has a view of a facility that provides reproductive health care and gender affirming care. I have confirmed that SPDs current practice is to mask or blur those locations. But until we’ve completed a comprehensive security audit and have stronger safeguards in place, I don’t believe it’s worth taking that risk.”
We agree with the Mayor, the risk of this data falling into the wrong hands is too high. That’s why we are calling on Mayor Wilson to block the shot!
On July 7th, 2026, Mayor Wilson announced that all of the police surveillance cameras in the Stadium District had been turned off. We applaud her immediate action to follow-through on her commitment, but can clearly see the cameras are still plugged-in to power supply. If the cameras can easily be turned off remotely, they can quite easily be turned back on remotely.
Residents of Seattle are already concerned that these cameras will not remain off. All installed cameras that are "turned off" must be physically covered or show the cord is unplugged, so that the public can be certain the cameras are not continuing to surveilling the public. And more importantly, we call for the 22 camera units (5 cameras each) in the Stadium District to be uninstalled and removed immediately. Public trust needs to be rebuilt. Take the cameras down now!
Tell Mayor Wilson to BLOCK THE SHOT!
And get further engaged with Community Not Cameras
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Petition created on April 26, 2026