New poll: 75% of Seattleites support CCTV cameras, expansion in wake of multiple shootings

Our Take

Credit to KOMO News for getting this story out fast, but let's be clear about what's actually happening here: a poll commissioned by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Challenge Seattle — both business advocacy groups, not neutral civic researchers — landed within hours of a Pioneer Square shooting. That timing isn't an accident. Fear is the most reliable lubricant for surveillance expansion, and "cameras that were turned off" makes for a much better headline than "cameras that don't actually stop shootings."

Nobody doubts that 75% of people polled right after a violent incident will say yes to more cameras watching their city. That's not evidence the technology works — it's evidence that fear makes people say yes to almost anything in the moment. What the poll doesn't ask is who controls the footage, how long it's retained, which agencies get access, or whether the data gets shared into regional and federal surveillance networks the way Flock Safety ALPR data routinely does elsewhere in the country. Seattle residents are being asked to vote on vibes, not policy.

This is exactly the pattern we track at DeFlock: a single incident becomes the justification for a permanent expansion of always-on surveillance infrastructure, with oversight added later if at all. If you live in Seattle, now's the time to ask your city council for retention limits, audit logs, and a public ban on data-sharing with ICE and other agencies — before the cameras go up, not after. Check our camera map to see what's already watching your neighborhood, and hit our take-action page for how to push back before "turn it back on" becomes "turn on a lot more."