By Hannah Saunders
After being in a lull regarding CCTV surveillance cameras in the Stadium District ahead of the FIFA World Cup, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson issued a statement and said the over 20 cameras will be active 24/7 during games. The World Cup kicks off in Seattle on June 15, with a match between the Belgian Red Devils and The Pharaohs from Egypt.
Wilson stated that earlier this week, she met with and received a briefing from SPD and the FBI regarding the “current global and local threat environment,” where general yet credible safety and security threats during the FIFA World Cup were highlighted.
“Given this information, the Stadium District cameras will be activated during the FIFA World Cup tournament,” Wilson added.
Her grassroots voting base and other movements have been pushing back against the mass surveillance expansion in the City of Seattle, with Wilson frequently disregarding concerns, despite campaigning on surveillance concerns. Several months ago, Wilson said the CCTV cameras in the Stadium District will be turned off unless there is a “credible threat” but never defined what that means.
Data from the CCTV cameras will be stored for five days at the Real Time Crime Center before being deleted, unless it’s called up for an incident, according to Wilson. In that case, footage is uploaded and stored on Axon server, evidence.com. Axon collaborates with DHS by providing storage systems, body-worn video cameras, AI software, and more.
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