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The Seattle City Council passed a measure at its Tuesday meeting that green-lights a plan to install outdoor surveillance cameras in what it calls the city’s most crime-prone areas – along Aurora Avenue in North, along the 3rd Avenue corridor downtown and in the Chinatown-International District (CID).

It is a very controversial plan that was met with a lot of opposition during the public comment period at the council meeting. Most of those in opposition believed the cameras wouldn’t be effective and would be most harmful to people of color. However, business owners ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ Newsradio spoke with and many of those living in the affected areas support the plan.

“I believe that’s a good idea,” CID business owner Gisele Masukidi told ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ Newsradio. “It might deter some criminals from criminal activities.”

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Masukidi said, for years, she has watched crime happen outside the front door of her business, Gold and Silver Traders on South Jackson Street. She said her customers have expressed fear about visiting her shop.

“Some customers do complain,” she said. “They complain if they have purses or something, they’re scared maybe someone would take their purse or if they have money they’re scared.”

Many businesses in the CID have installed cameras outside their businesses at their own expense. Those we spoke with are excited about the city playing a bigger role in protecting their community.

“I think anything to help us make it a better place, a safer place, a secure place, a better place for our community members and visitors is a good thing,” CID business owner Binko Chiong-Bisbee told ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ Newsradio. “I think it can perhaps deter bad things from happening in our neighborhood, and something has to happen. We’ve been dealing with this since the pandemic.”

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The council also passed legislation that increases signing bonuses for some new police officers to $50,000.

“Both pieces of legislation build on the city council’s strategic work this year to improve public safety by expanding tools to accelerate police hiring, improve the technologies available to help police stop crimes in real-time and keep drug-related criminals out of designated areas of the city,” Seattle City Council member Bob Kettle said.

James Lynch is a reporter at ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ Newsradio. You can read more of James’ stories here. Follow James on , or email him here.