New website reveals license plates of Aurora Avenue visitors in Seattle

Cracking down on prostitution by posting license plates online

A new community safety tool looks to help people identify the drivers who frequent Aurora Avenue through surveillance cameras.

SEATTLE - Neighbors fed up with violence, drugs and prostitution along Aurora Avenue in Seattle have created a website revealing the license plates of late night visitors.

Organizers of "Is Jon a John" say license plates are captured from multiple cameras positioned along the infamous highway between 101st and 109th.

The website says, "Picked up a prostitute on Aurora Ave? Did you drive into our neighborhood? We've probably got your license plate."

If a plate is captured, it'll show up on the website's search bar, along with timestamped photos of the license plates.

Attorney Mark Lindquist says the website enters tricky legal territory.

"They are risking litigation by putting up a website like this if it implies criminal activity," said Lindquist.

The privacy policy of "Is Jon a John" states, "we do not accuse or imply any illegal activity by the owners of the listed vehicles."

Lindquist still advises law enforcement to be left to professionals.

"The people who set up the website should be seeking legal counsel from someone who knows this area of the law, and as for the people who end up on this website, they may also want to talk to a lawyer," said Lindquist.

The creators of the website, who wish to remain anonymous, tell FOX 13 their cameras have captured more than 7,000 license plates in the area.

"These are plates that we don't see regularly during the day. They only come to our neighborhood for prostitution, trafficking and gun violence, unfortunately," said an anonymous member affiliated with the website.

"There's a lot of gangs coming up as well, and we're capturing those plates."

Multiple neighbors say they have called police for help, but they feel violence and prostitution has only ramped up.

"This is one of the reasons why I feel like I can not let my kids walk the dog in the neighborhood by themselves," said one mother who lives in the area.

This mother also wished to remain anonymous. Though she is not affiliated with the new website, she is calling community members to help keep crime from creeping closer in.

"We really ask our neighbors and our community to ask the Mayor and our Seattle City Council to reinstate the loitering law."

For now, posters have popped up along Aurora Avenue with QR codes that link to the website.

"I think it's going to cause a lot of people not to roam through our neighborhoods anymore," said an anonymous member of the website. "We haven't had a lot of deterrence from the city so we have decided to go ahead and do this website to hopefully bring awareness to the issue."

Requesting to remove license plate photos that have been published on the website can be found here.