Public commenter urges commission to 'turn off Sherlock' over surveillance concerns

During general public comment at the April 3 DAS commission meeting, Chris Ward Klein urged commissioners to act on what he described as dangerous surveillance and coercive practices tied to a system he called "SHERLOCK" and a program he identified as Homeward Bound.

Klein read portions of an email sent to the Board of Supervisors on March 11 and said the program, “is illegal under its current terms with state and federal law,” adding it would “increase overdoses and increase violence.” He described SHERLOCK as a system that would place individuals and families under digital surveillance and said, “Turn off Sherlock immediately on all citizens of San Francisco and outside of San Francisco.”

Klein told the commission he will continue to raise the issue at public meetings and urged commissioners and the director to review his materials and call others to discuss it. The commission did not take action on the comment during the meeting; no Department of Disability and Aging Services presenter offered an immediate response during the public comment period.