Woodinville city officials have asked residents to weigh in during the month of March on the idea to use video cameras on public streets and parks to improve public safety. The city is encouraging residents to take an online survey on the issue.
Now, a petition has been started by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington urging the Woodinvile City Council to reject the idea, saying the city can set an example for the state by protecting the privacy of its residents and visitors.
A portion of the petition states:
"Cameras do not prevent crimes and can violate the privacy of people living and working in the community and those who visit. Woodinville's elected leaders can provide leadership for the rest of the state by acting to protect privacy. Ask the Woodinville City Council to reject surveillance cameras."
Will you sign the petition? Can Woodinville set an example on video camera use around the state of Washington? Tell us in comments.
City officials have said the cameras would be used to help in crime investigation and would not be used to issue traffic citations. Specifics as to locations and the number of cameras that would be used have not been developed.
The City is requesting input through the end of March, when the survey results will be presented to Woodinville City Council. A previous Patch story on the topic generated nearly 38 comments, both for and against the idea.
To see the ACLU petition, click here.
To take the city's video surveillance camera survey, click here.
Previous coverage:
The Woodinville City Manager put video cameras in the 2013 Woodinville budget, and the Woodinville council approved the budget without more than a few words about the cameras. Then came Woodinville's opportunity for "public input" which amounted to a survey on the Patch. Not sure what the results were, but I can say that an online survey with a handful of responses was not adequate for an issue this important. As much as I respect the efforts of the Patch, the Woodinville Weekly is the city's official paper and the survey should have been posted there, too. Woodinville has a Public Safety Commission and we should use the services of those dedicated citizens to investigate the use of cameras. I think the cameras could be a very useful addition to our crime prevention effort, but their use needs extensive study. I would rather have an additional full time officer in Woodinville, but the Woodinville council has public safety on the bottom of the priorities list here. In my opinion, Woodinville staff and the Woodinville council stifled public input with regard to the cameras, and we need to do address that issue, too. Thanks to the ACLU, we may be forced into letting citizens be involved in the decision making process.
Just to clarify, the online survey about video cameras has nothing to do with Patch. It is a city-sponsored survey with a link to it at the bottom of this post. It also can be found on the city's website on the homepage. The survey is still available for people to fill out until the end of March, after which the results will be reported to the council.
what are we hiding?obviously when your car is stolen or even worse a child is abducted. the police will need as much resources as possible.Criminals today are smarter and move quickly. We need to think this out and sacrifice privacy for the greater good of the community.
Thank you ACLU for taking up this matter!
I still strongly believe surveillance cameras could benefit the safety and security of all citizens.Technology is here to be utilized. Question,was the machine gun the police discovered and removed off the street in Woodinville last week just another rare event? Its not fair to quote "Benjamin Franklin" all due respect did the nation have a huge economical and drug problem back then?How many people carried guns in the 1700's? you cant compare the 1700's and implement its policies with whats happening in the world today. Its completely unrealistic. Even the pope has asked the world to change its perspectives based on the new generation today.
As to how many people carried guns in the 1700s. I would bet all of them did! As for drugs who do you think sells us the drugs. And please don't say drug dealers. Benjamin Franklin had enough foresight to make sure we were able to protect ourselves and he was not talking about from each other. He was talking about from our own government. The $55,000 they would pay for the cameras could be better spent in the community helping disadvantage youths and homeless people.