When homelessness reporting systems combine AI and policing, do they produce care or criminalization?
Reports from the media and the Sarnia police have claimed both that the service will: a) allow homeowners to submit concerns regarding by-law infringements or perceived community safety issues, and b) help people without stable homes connect to support services. This new system seems to be both guiding requests for services for those experiencing homelessness but also facilitating complaints about them.
This blog from the Homeless Hub, authored by Abe Oudshoorn, Luke Stark, Moh Zadeh, Nicole Fice argues that governments need to increase resources for up-front, human-based support services, not automated triage systems that risk criminalization and harmful errors.