seattle
Seattle Considering $1.6 Million Facial Recognition Surveillance System
Seattle considering $1.6 million facial recognition surveillance system In Seattle, Washington, the City Council will soon decide on whether or not they should approve an ordinance that green-lights a $1.6 million federal grant, a large chunk of which will be used to purchase sophisticated facial recognition software that supporters of the measure say would help stop crime. Those Department of Homeland Security dollars would let the Seattle police pay for software that digitally scans surveillance camera footage and then tries to match images of the individuals caught on tape with any one of the 350,000-or-so people who have been photographed previously by King County, Washington law enforcement. “An officer has to reasonably believe that a person has been involved in a crime or committed a crime” before they begin to use the program, Assistant Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best told KIRO-TV this week Once the facial recognition software is initiated, though, it scours a collection containing close to a half-a-million area residents — including many who may never have been convicted of a crime. That database, members of the local Seattle Privacy anti-surveillance collective say, is composed of more than just the mug shots of convicted criminals. Images of anyone ever arrested and booked are included in that system, regardless of whether or not they were ever ultimately convicted of a crime. And according to a recent post on the Seattle Privacy website attributed to founding member Jan Bultmann, there has already been mention of perhaps someday including the […]
Source www.scenereleases.eu
Seattle PD Is Matching Mug Shots With High Tech
City Councilman Bruce Harrell, during an interview with Crosscut writers and editors The Seattle Police Department has drafted a new policy to guide the use of facial recognition software. The department, which came under criticism over earlier efforts to introduce new surveillance technologies, took steps to get outside advice during the development of the policy on facial recognition software. The software would allow police to check images of suspects against a database with 350,000 mug shots from King County. Photos in the database would be of people who’ve been arrested, fingerprinted and booked in jail. The department would purchase the “booking photo comparison software” with pending funds from a Department of Homeland Security grant. While the technology might give pause to some privacy advocates, the American Civil Liberties Union has backed the policy because it narrowly limits the department’s use of the computer system and sets clear rules for oversight. Under the policy, the department can only use the software to identify “a person whom an officer reasonably suspects may be involved in criminal activity.” This means that cops cannot use the technology to identify witnesses, victims or other crime scene bystanders. The department is also not allowed to connect the database to “live” surveillance feeds, including the city’s currently offline “mesh network.” “It would be a great way to expedite some searching we’re already doing,” Assistant Chief Carmen Best told a City Council committee on Wednesday. “This only allows us to do it much more quickly and much more […]
Source crosscut.com
Sea-Tac Security Cam Captures Man Running Toward Tarmac
Sea-Tac security cam captures man running toward tarmac SEATAC, Wash. – Security camera video obtained by KOMO News shows how a man was able to walk through a restricted emergency exit and make his way toward the tarmac at Sea-Tac Airport. The security breach happened Jan. 9 between gates 2 and 3 in Sea-Tac’s D concourse. An airport spokesperson says the mentally ill man opened a glass door exit that leads to stairs, which lead to the tarmac. Baggage handlers noticed the man and tackled him when he tried to run away from the terminal. Police arrested the suspect and took him to the King County Jail. They did not release his name or age. He was not armed and did not make any verbal threats. Officials say he had a ticket and made it through security with no problem. The incident raises questions about security breaches at the airport and whether passengers should be concerned. "By tackling him they were obviously on point about what they needed to do," said Annie Salonen. "If for some reason someone does get past that then they’ll be taken care of." Port of Seattle Police Chief Colleen Wilson said while her officers are ready to react quickly to any threat, all employees are expected to challenge anybody who appears to be in a restricted area without authorization. She applauds what the baggage handlers did. "It’s a really great example of the multiple layers of security we have built in here at the […]
Source www.komonews.com
Game Of ‘Surveillance Camera Destruction’ Hits The United States
cameras The previously discussed trend of making a game out of breaking as many public surveillance cameras as possible, known as Camover , appears to have crossed the Atlantic, with a team calling themselves the Barefoot Bandit Brigade claiming a score of 17 in Washington state: 17 Security Cameras Disabled and Destroyed in Puget Sound Region — In the opening weeks of February, 2013, we have removed and destroyed 17 security cameras throughout the Puget Sound region. This act is concrete sabotage against the system of surveillance and control. It is also a message of solidarity and a wish of strength to the Seattle Grand Jury Resisters, those currently incarcerated and those not. Finally, this act announces our participation in the game of CAMOVER, called for by comrades in Germany.
Source disinfo.com
CaughtOnCamera: Seattle Gunman Tackled By Metro Bus Passengers
A Seattle gunman was tackled to the ground by heroic bus passengers on November 25, 2013. The raw footage from the bus security cameras caught the entire incident on tape. The gunman, Seattle 19-year-old Trevonnte Brown, got onto the King County Metro bus in downtown. Once the bus began moving, he pulled out his gun and made his way towards the other passengers. Robbing two passengers of their cellphones, Brown continued to proceed to the front of the bus. Chris Briggs, one of the victims, told reporters, “He came up to me … stuck the gun at me and took my phone. He jabbed me a little harder and said, ‘Don’t make this any harder than it has to be.’” The surveillance footage reveals that an unknown hero jumped on the masked gunman and tackled him to the ground, without a shot being fired. At that point Briggs and several others joined in the pile up while other passengers ran for safety. Brown was held by the heroic passengers until authorities could arrive. “People were kind of committed at that point,” Briggs said. “It was just kinda one of those things that no one gave any thought to once things started happening.” Brown was arrested and charged with three counts of robbery and one count of attempted robbery, according to ABC new affiliate KOMO . He pleaded guilty to all counts, reports KOMO. The masked Seattle gunman is being held on $350,000 bail. The next hearing in his case […]
Source www.inquisitr.com
Seattle Latest City To Install DHS Surveillance Equipment
Seattle Latest City to Install DHS Surveillance Equipment Add Seattle to the list of local governments taking money from the Department of Homeland Security to put their citizens under federal surveillance. Seattle newspaper The Stranger reports : If you’re walking around downtown while looking at a smartphone, you will probably see at least one — and more likely two or three — Wi-Fi networks named after intersections: “4th&Seneca,” “4th&Union,” “4th&University,” and so on. That is how you can see the Seattle Police Department’s new wireless mesh network, bought from a California-based company called Aruba Networks, whose clients include the Department of Defense, school districts in Canada, oil-mining interests in China, and telecommunications companies in Saudi Arabia. Perhaps wiring the city with high-tech, federally funded surveillance equipment is what Seattle mayor meant when he described the city’s budget as “a moral document. It puts resources behind our vision of the city we want to see.” Apparently, part of those resources are coming from the federal government and they are earmarked for use to putting the city under the vision of the Department of Homeland Security. When pressed for details about his department’s new monitoring agreement with DHS, Seattle Police Department Detective Monty Moss said he “is not comfortable answering policy questions when we do not yet have a policy,” as reported by The Stranger . The paper continues: But, Detective Moss added, the SPD “is actively collaborating with the mayor’s office, city council, law department, and the ACLU on a […]
Source thenewamerican.com
Seattle: The Surveillance Camera Man
His favorite targets include the homeless, Asian shop owners, security guards, and cabbies. With an unwavering stare and nerves of steel, he aims his video camera at them, seemingly intent on eliciting anger, confusion, and anything else his unwilling subjects care to muster. Known only as Surveillance Camera Man, this provocateur’s YouTube videos have become viral, controversial hits, most yielding over 100,000 views. He’s uploaded five compilations since October 2012, each following a simple template: SCM, as we’ll call him, walks up to a stranger, usually in a public space, and silently trains his lens on them. When the subjects wonder why they’re being filmed, his response is almost always the same: “Just taking a video.” (SCM’s face is never seen.) Each compilation runs 4 to 6 minutes and contains several clips of SCM annoying people in various locations. The clips appear to be shot with a tiny camera or cell phone, adding to the target’s initial confusion about what’s happening. “It’s not easy to sum up the recipe of a viral video,” says Brad Kim, managing editor of Seattle’s Know Your Meme (part of the Cheezburger family of websites). He cites the “repetition of a single motif, brevity in length, elements of drama and surprise. And with the case of Surveillance Camera Man in particular, voyeurism and timeliness.” With Edward Snowden and the NSA surveillance scandal as a backdrop, SCM’s videos might arguably be making a political/artistic point. In one early reel, he alludes to the ubiquity of […]
Source www.seattleweekly.com