Seattle Moves Forward with Surveillance Expansion Despite Lack of Pilot Data, Raises Federal Access Concerns

Amy Sundberg, public safety reporter for The Urbanist and publisher of Notes from the Emerald City, joins Hacks & Wonks to discuss how Seattle's City Council is poised to expand the city's surveillance pilot program before collecting any evaluation data on its effectiveness, raising concerns among privacy advocates about potential federal access to the data amid heightened immigration enforcement. The expansion, scheduled for a final council vote on September 9 at 2:30 p.m., would install new cameras in three areas and tap into Seattle Department of Transportation's existing network of traffic management cameras, adding more than 365 cameras total to the Seattle Police Department's Real-Time Crime Center.   As always, a full text transcript of the show is available at officialhacksandwonks.com. Follow us on Bluesky at @HacksAndWonks. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Bluesky at @finchfrii and find Amy Sundberg at @amysundberg.