- An AI tool called SAFER used in Ontario jails assigns prisoners security scores based on personal data, leading to harsher conditions for Black prisoners due to racially biased inputs.
- Black prisoners are disproportionately placed in maximum security despite making up only 5.4% of Ontario's population, while mitigation measures exist for Indigenous prisoners but not for Black ones.
- A class action lawsuit alleges SAFER violates Charter rights by denying equal protection, with critics highlighting systemic discrimination in data from police and courts.
- Prisoners' access to visits and amenities depends on SAFER scores, with Black women particularly affected, receiving maximum-security designations at twice the rate of white women.
- Jail staff can override SAFER decisions, but discretion in overrides, especially regarding gang affiliations, may further disadvantage Black prisoners.
- The SAFER algorithm's workings are undisclosed, and its predictive claims lack public evidence, raising concerns about algorithmic bias from historical biased data.
- Ontario's Ombudsman received complaints about SAFER, noting disproportionate impacts and lack of transparency on score reduction through programming.
- AI tools in criminal justice risk perpetuating bias through 'black box' algorithms, with warnings about spurious correlations like race or postal code.