I am Patty Fong and I am a Seattle native. I currently live very near to Little Saigon. I patronize SCID businesses frequently and have advocated on the community’s behalf on many occasions.
I sympathize with and understand the concern over crime and security in the SCID.
I understand there is a movement to install new electronic cameras in the SCID.
I strenuously object to electronic surveillance – facial recognition-enabled or not – as a means of addressing and remediating crime in this community.
There are other less draconian means of securing private property such as cameras on a private business so long as it does not invade the public space; security gates; burglar alarms; and improved lighting.
I recommend that the 900 individuals who support addressing crime in the SCID think of hiring a private security guard to patrol the area at night.
More SPD presence is needed in the SCID.
So, you see, there are other alternatives to addressing security that do not violate the rights of all individuals in this community.
Cameras in the SCID act as a dragnet; they capture everyone, guilty or not. This is an invasion. It is spying. It is not transparent.
Cameras may not be illegal but private individuals do not have the right to violate the constitutionally guaranteed right to privacy of the larger community – the larger community extending beyond those who do business or live here – all who enter this community mostly for legitimate reasons.
In the end, the right to privacy is enshrined in the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution.
From the City to the County to the individuals in this community – none are entitled to violate this constitutional right to privacy. ~ Patty Fong
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