Businesses can share their video feeds Seattle Police through a new safety initiative. The program is fully voluntary and businesses retain control over the data, and can choose any or all camera feeds.
Photo courtesy Seattle Police Department
A new voluntary program is giving Seattle business owners the choice to integrate their private security systems directly with local law enforcement to boost neighborhood safety.
The initiative, known as the Connect Seattle Camera Integration program, allows participating businesses to share exterior security camera feeds with the Seattle Police Department (SPD). Unlike mandatory surveillance measures, this program is entirely opt-in, putting control of the data directly in the hands of local business owners.
Under the program's guidelines, business owners retain full authority over their participation. They can choose to share all of their camera feeds or only selected ones, establishing their own preferences for what law enforcement can access.
How the Integration Works
To participate, business owners plug a small FususCORE device directly into their existing camera systems. Once installed, the device enables secure camera sharing based entirely on the owner's chosen settings, without impacting their business network. This integration does not replace any existing security monitoring services the business might already use.
By agreeing to integrate their exterior camera feeds, business owners permit authorized SPD users to view live camera footage for law enforcement purposes. However, SPD will not monitor these cameras 24/7. Instead, officers are granted live access specifically in the event of an emergency near the business location to help solve and prevent crimes as necessary.
Privacy Safeguards and Restricted Technology
To address potential privacy and security concerns, the program relies on the CJIS-compliant FūsusONE platform, which secures all transmitted data using AES 256-bit encryption at rest, in transit, and in the cloud.
The program also establishes clear boundaries on what the technology can and cannot do:
- No Facial Recognition: The system does not use, nor does it integrate with, any facial recognition technology.
- Targeted AI Search: The platform does utilize artificial intelligence to rapidly search video feeds to mitigate criminal activity, but these use cases are strictly limited to automatically recognizing objects like weapons or vehicles of interest.
Business owners who are interested in taking the next step and voluntarily joining the network are instructed to contact Alexis Bourland, the FususCONNECT Program Coordinator.
