The Seattle Police Department welcomes Mary Perry as Director of Transparency and Privacy. This is a new position with SPD as part of its re-organization of public disclosure response and enhanced compliance processes. In this role, Perry will oversee public disclosure and direct the department’s efforts to proactively provide data and information to the public.
Perry has worked with the City of Seattle for more than 10 years. She began serving with the City’s Law Department in 2005 as an Assistant City Attorney in the Municipal Law Section, where she focused on public records issues and compliance.
Chief Kathleen O’Toole remarks, “I am absolutely committed to finding the right balance between transparency and privacy to ensure as much visibility into police operations without compromising the very legitimate privacy concerns of victims, people in crisis, or others that reach out to the police at their most vulnerable time. Mary has a proven track record and deep understanding of this balance and I am thrilled that she is coming on board to coordinate and drive our transparency efforts.”
Prior to her work with the City of Seattle, Perry was a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in the Civil Division of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, where she represented various County departments, including public records matters.
Perry is a graduate of St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana and received her law degree from Seattle University. Before attending law school, she was an officer in the U.S. Navy.
Perry will start on January 27, 2016.