Audit Finds Seattle Crime Center Lacks Privacy Safeguards
An independent review of Seattle's Real Time Crime Center stops short of judging the program but raises questions for the mayor's expansion decision.
Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Remote Work
Live Poll
Should your city expand police surveillance cameras to more public spaces?
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson received a privacy audit of the Real Time Crime Center, conducted by the New York University School of Law Policing Project. The audit does not take a position on the program, which opened in 2025 and has expanded to several hundred public and private cameras across the city.
Why it matters
Wilson must decide whether to expand the system, a choice that weighs police investigative value against privacy concerns for residents. The outcome will shape surveillance policy in Seattle as the city's police department remains critically understaffed.
The audit, based on site visits in May and September, documents a network of several hundred public and private cameras feeding the Real Time Crime Center. Councilmember Rob Saka has requested $1 million in the upcoming budget to extend the system into Seattle Center, but the audit does not assess whether that expansion is warranted.
The players
Katie Wilson
Seattle's mayor, who will decide whether the Real Time Crime Center system expands.
Andre Sayles
Seattle's interim police chief, appearing with the mayor to address the audit.
Rob Saka
Seattle city councilmember who has called for $1 million to extend the crime center into Seattle Center.
New York University School of Law Policing Project
The academic policy group that conducted the privacy audit of the Real Time Crime Center.
The details
The audit reviewed instances where the system was used in investigations and emergency response calls, and police have credited it with solving several high-profile crimes. Critics argue the system surveils people who have done nothing wrong, and the audit notes that more offenders may be apprehended and crime deterred if proponents' suggestions hold.
Timeline
The Real Time Crime Center opened in 2025.
The Office of Inspector General released its review of the system in September.
Wilson is scheduled to take questions on the audit at a press conference on Tuesday alongside Interim Police Chief Andre Sayles.
Remote Work
Placed alongside the Office of Inspector General's September review, the New York University audit adds an outside privacy assessment before the mayor weighs expanding the system. Together, the two reviews set the terms for how Seattle balances camera-based monitoring against resident privacy.
Residents in areas covered by the camera network could see the system extend into Seattle Center if the $1 million request is approved. The mayor's decision will determine whether that coverage grows across public spaces in the city.
The takeaway
The audit shows that a surveillance tool can deliver investigative results while still raising unresolved privacy questions, so residents should watch how the mayor weighs both sides before any expansion. Decisions like this one tend to be made in budget cycles, so the coming weeks are when public input has the most influence.
What happens next
Mayor Wilson is scheduled to address the audit at a press conference on Tuesday, where she will take questions alongside Interim Chief Sayles.
Further reading
Explore more on Remote Work to see how workplace and public-sector policy decisions are shaped in Seattle.
Live Poll
Should your city expand police surveillance cameras to more public spaces?
