CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to surveillance technology implementation; authorizing approval of uses and accepting the 2025 updated surveillance impact report and 2025 executive overview for the Seattle Police Department's use of Tracking Devices; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.
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WHEREAS, on February 28, 2023, the City Council passed Ordinance 126776, adopting the original Surveillance Impact Report (SIR) for Tracking Devices technology; and
WHEREAS, subsection 14.18.020.F of the Seattle Municipal Code (SMC), which section was enacted by Ordinance 125376 and last amended by Ordinance 125679, states that "[a]ny material update to an SIR, such as to change the purpose or manner in which a surveillance technology may be used, shall be by ordinance"; and
WHEREAS, the functionality defined in the original tracking devices SIR will change pending a $250,000 Washington State Department of Commerce Law Enforcement Pursuit Technology grant that will assist local law enforcement in vehicle pursuit mitigation; and
WHEREAS, a category of GPS trackers (police pursuit management technology) is utilized to tag and track fleeing vehicles as a safer alternative to vehicle pursuits; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with RCW 10.116.060.2.d, which requires agencies to "develop a plan to end the pursuit through the use of available pursuit intervention options," this specialized GPS tracker allows the Seattle Police Department (SPD) to track the precise location of a vehicle for which probable cause or reasonable suspicion of involvement in a crime has been established and accomplish the task of recovery or arrest without the need for initiating or continuing a vehicle pursuit; and
WHEREAS, SPD is considering a pilot for 25 SPD patrol vehicles to be equipped with GPS tracker launchers, deployed throughout the patrol operations bureau precincts; and
WHEREAS, all sworn SPD officers will be...
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