Faulty reasoning signals

• Confirmation Bias - 1.1% (9 hits)
• Anchoring Bias - 0%
• Availability Heuristic - 0.6% (5 hits)
• Representativeness Heuristic - 0%
• Hindsight Bias - 0%
• Overconfidence Bias - 2.2% (18 hits)
• Framing Effect - 6% (50 hits)
• Loss Aversion - 4.9% (41 hits)
• Status Quo Bias - 0%
• Sunk Cost Effect - 0%
• Optimism Bias - 7% (58 hits)
• Pessimism Bias - 4.9% (41 hits)

Article text

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson turns off Stadium District cameras as soccer fans depart

Critics of Seattle’s closed-circuit television cameras are celebrating Mayor Katie Wilson’s decision to turn them off in the Stadium District now that Seattle’s World Cup hosting duties have concluded.

In her announcement Tuesday, Wilson said she was staying true to her pledge to pause any expansion of the existing security camera network.

“This follows through on the commitment I made last month that these particular cameras would only be turned on for the duration of the FIFA World Cup in Seattle, because of its high global profile and the unique circumstances surrounding the event," she said.

Wilson has been under intense pressure from City Council members, business groups, and her own supporters on different sides of the surveillance technology debate.

RELATED: A split view on surveillance in Seattle's South End

In line with her announcement last spring, Wilson said the Stadium District cameras will remain off, and no new cameras will be turned on while the city awaits a privacy audit her office commissioned from The Policing Project at New York University, expected this fall.

The 62 existing cameras in the city’s downtown core, Chinatown-International District, and on North Aurora remain in use, feeding footage to the Seattle Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center.

But opponents with the coalition Community Not Cameras said the CCTV cameras in the Stadium District still appear to be plugged in.

At a press conference outside City Hall Tuesday, Bryce Cannatelli with the group Seattle Solidarity Budget said opponents want to see the cameras removed completely.

“If they can easily be turned off remotely, they can quite easily be turned back on,” Cannatelli said.

“We’re asking the mayor to unplug these cameras by the end of the day and have them physically taken down by the end of the week.”

Opponents of the cameras said they create a dragnet that harms civil liberties and could be used by federal agencies as well.

Melissa Howard canvassed for Wilson during the election.

Now, she and some other supporters have formed the group Our Seattle which calls itself “a grassroots movement to hold Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson accountable for her campaign promises” and take a tougher position against the cameras.

“Now, we’ve seen that the pressure works,” Howard said.

“We can actually celebrate a small win that cameras are off in the Stadium District now, according to her statement.”

RELATED: Is Mayor Wilson turning off police cameras?

Sort of

But Howard added, “I think any of these systems that bring in all of this data and capture this data are inherently insecure and ripe for abuse. ...

We’re going to continue to push until we see the surveillance state stopped.”

State Rep.

Shaun Scott (D-Seattle) said Wilson shouldn’t be funding the cameras while “mulling deep cuts to social services” in the next budget.

Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck didn’t attend the press conference but sent a statement of support, saying she opposes any expansion of the CCTV network.

“This is a pilot that keeps growing in scope and scale,” Rinck said.

“We should not be rushing to do this when the risks outweigh the benefits of surveillance.”

Meanwhile, earlier on Tuesday, World Cup officials celebrated Seattle’s performance as a host city and said they saw the CCTV cameras in the Stadium District as an asset.

“I’m of the opinion that the cameras did make us safer,” said Peter Tomozawa, CEO of the Seattle 2026 World Cup Organizing Committee.

“The evidence speaks volumes.

We had so few incidents.”

Tomozawa said the city also did an effective job planning and coordinating with national, state, and local partners.

The Downtown Seattle Association also supports the cameras.

In a statement the group’s CEO John Scholes said the cameras provide crucial evidence, and deactivating some now “makes zero sense.”

He said, “Massive crowds with international visitors may have left but the community remains, and their safety should be supported by the best available resources.”

RELATED: Seattle will turn on stadium-area cameras during World Cup after all, Mayor Wilson says

SPD said the CCTV cameras do not record audio or use facial recognition.

The agency said the system uses “object recognition” software that can scan for a specific color on clothing or vehicles.

The agency said the video it gathers may be shared with other agencies, but SPD will not assist with investigations that involve abortion or gender-affirming care, in accordance with state law.

Their FAQ states, “SPD does not and will not participate in immigration enforcement but may be compelled to share information under federal law.”

In addition to the NYU Policing Project analysis, the city is also awaiting a report commissioned by the Office of Inspector General from the University of Pennsylvania's Crime and Justice Policy Lab.

According to SPD, “The RTCC was approved as a two-year research project.

Data is being collected for operational information, use, and investigation outcomes, and provided to researchers for independent evaluation.”