The mayor has a draft audit of Seattle's police cameras but won't release it yet. Here's how the Council voted on them

Mayor Katie Wilson's office and the Seattle Police Department are reviewing a draft evaluation of the city's police camera system, and Wilson said Tuesday it will be made public only after that review, FOX 13 reported. "So, no, you cannot have a copy today," she told the station, adding that the city wants to make sure "all the information in there is factual."

The draft comes from the Policing Project at New York University, an outside evaluator, and was delivered last week, according to FOX 13. Under the city's agreement, Seattle has up to 30 days to send feedback before the report is final. NYU keeps final editorial control.

Why it matters: the report is the condition Wilson set for deciding whether to turn back on the cameras in Pioneer Square and the Stadium District, which ran during the World Cup and were switched off after it. Business groups want them back on, and others want them removed for good, FOX 13 reported.

How we got here

• On July 7, the mayor's office announced the Stadium District cameras were off, saying they had been promised only for the World Cup. Cameras downtown, in the Chinatown-International District and on North Aurora stayed on. The office said no new police cameras would be turned on until the audit was done and reviewed.
• In an Aug. 3 letter, venue operators and business groups asked Wilson to restore the 22 cameras in Pioneer Square and the Stadium District.
• Public Safety Chair Robert Kettle has pushed to keep the system running and improve it, KOMO reported in July. In June he called an earlier pause unjustified.

What our records add: three votes in three years

Under Seattle's surveillance ordinance, the Council must approve by ordinance where and how police use these cameras. Our records show three key votes.

2024: the pilot. CB 120844, sponsored by Kettle, approved cameras in three pilot areas: Aurora Avenue North from 85th to 145th, the downtown core and Belltown, and the Chinatown-International District. It passed 7-1 at the Oct. 8, 2024 meeting. Then-Councilmember Tammy Morales voted no. A companion bill for the Real-Time Crime Center software, CB 120845, passed by the same margin.

2025: the expansion. CB 121052, also Kettle's, added the Capitol Hill nightlife area, the Stadium District and the area around Garfield High School. It passed 7-2 at the Sept. 9, 2025 meeting. Among today's members:

• Yes: Joy Hollingsworth, Debora Juarez, Robert Kettle, Maritza Rivera, Rob Saka
• No: Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Dan Strauss

Then-members Sara Nelson and Mark Solomon also voted yes. Dionne Foster and Eddie Lin were not yet on the Council. The Real-Time Crime Center update, CB 121053, passed 7-2 with the same split.

2026: the pause rule. CB 121179, sponsored by Rinck, sets conditions for a mandatory 60-day halt in camera and license-plate-reader data collection. It passed 8-0 at the March 31 meeting, with Rivera not recorded. According to a Central Staff memo, the pause applies when the data is sought or used for federal civil immigration enforcement or for reproductive or gender-affirming care cases, or when the mayor and police chief decide such use is happening or likely. The memo says SPD has reported it has not disclosed camera or plate-reader data for those purposes.

The 2024 rules also require SPD to report each year, by Dec. 31, on subpoenas, warrants and records requests for camera data, according to a 2025 Central Staff memo. That memo said SPD planned 65 cameras in the first pilot areas, and that the pilot is subject to an evaluation with results in 2026 and 2027.

What's next

• Around Nov. 20: the city's 30-day feedback window on the NYU draft, delivered last week by FOX 13's account, would run out. No public release date has been set.
• Thursday, Oct. 29: the Select Budget Committee takes up councilmember proposals for the Police Department. Those packets had not been posted as of Wednesday morning.
• Dec. 31: SPD's annual report to the Council on requests for camera data is due.