The Center Square) – Seattle City Council Public Safety Committee Chair Bob Kettle is stepping up his criticism of Mayor Katie Wilson’s decision not to activate newly installed surveillance cameras by Lumen Field as the World Cup approaches.
Kettle argued in a sharply worded June 2 letter to the mayor that it is inconsistent with city law and the ordinances approved by the Seattle City Council in late 2025, setting up the city surveillance program.
Wilson said in March that she would only install the newly installed cameras that were scheduled to be connected to the city’s real-time crime center unless there is a credible threat.
“Seattle is the only one of the 11 host cities without a fully active CCTV system,” Kettle wrote. “Leaving this vulnerability unaddressed is an unwarranted and reckless risk to public safety.”
Kettle said he was urging the mayor to take immediate action to protect the community and the hundreds of thousands of fans arriving for the games.
The first of six games starts on June 15.
Wilson did not respond to requests for comment from The Center Square on Wednesday.
But what is clear, at least so far, is that she is not backing down.
Wilson has cited privacy concerns and the fear that federal immigration agents could use the cameras to conduct immigration raids, prompting a pause in their implementation, while an outside group studies the issue.
Some cameras installed last year continue to operate, but only outside the Stadium District.
Kettle, in a press release accompanying the letter to Wilson, said the city council already put safeguards in place last year that allow the cameras to be shut down if they are used by immigration agents.
Last week, Kettle, speaking at the Public Safety Committee, called Wilson’s decision not to turn on the cameras as not professional.
Kettle was joined by Councilman Rob Saka, the co-chair of the committee and Councilwoman Maritza Rivera, in criticizing the mayor’s decision.
Kettle said in his press release that since its launch in April 2025, the Real-Time Crime Center has helped solve at least 561 violent crime cases citywide through the end of February 2026.
Police attribute recent successful investigations, including the arrest of two suspects for the April 2026 assault of a 77-year-old military veteran, to the use of this technology, he said.
