The Seattle Police Department (SPD) has launched a new public safety program called "Connect Seattle," encouraging residents and business owners to register their private security cameras to help solve crimes. The initiative aims to create a city-wide interactive map of camera locations, accessible to investigators to streamline evidence collection after an incident.
"Connect Seattle" is designed to "greatly enhance emergency preparedness by enabling police, fire, and public safety professionals to better assess and rapidly respond to criminal activity and emergency situations". Anyone with a camera on a premises within Seattle is eligible to participate.
The registration process, which takes less than a minute via a secure online portal, is free of charge. Participants are asked to provide their name, email address, cell phone number, location, and the number of internal and external cameras they own. As of a recent count, the program had 127 registered cameras and 448 integrated cameras.
Officials emphasize that registering a camera does not grant the SPD remote or live access to video feeds. Instead, the registry serves as a directory, allowing investigators to know a camera is present at a specific location and providing them with immediate contact information for the owner.
If a crime occurs near a registered camera, law enforcement may contact the owner via the information provided and request any relevant footage. However, participation is entirely voluntary. The city repeatedly states that camera owners "are under no obligation to provide video if requested".
Privacy concerns are addressed in the program's frequently asked questions. While the camera map itself is accessible only to authorized SPD users, the information provided during registration may be subject to public disclosure laws. According to the program's documents, Washington State law does not specifically exempt this type of information from public records requests, although it prohibits the use of such data for commercial purposes. Video footage provided to the SPD as part of an active investigation will not be disclosed until the case is closed.
