The ACT's Chief Police Officer has revealed officers used a spit hood on a 16-year-old girl at the Canberra City watch house.
When questioned about the practice in an estimates committee hearing yesterday, Deputy Commissioner Neil Gaughan said spit hoods were used "very seldomly, to prevent a person in custody from spitting or biting officers".
He said that between March 2020 and August 14, 2020 police officers had made 26 reports of being spat at or bitten.
But Deputy Commissioner Gaughan insisted the spit hoods were not used on children, though had recently been used on a 16-year-old girl.
"We've had a 16-year-old in the city who was aggressive in relation when she was taken into the watch house for refusing to give up her alcohol and she spat and kicked at police," he said.
But, he added they had not been deployed on anyone under the age of 16.
When questioned on whether police could use other options like personal protective equipment, the CPO responded that they were inappropriate for officers.
"If I put a perspex on a police officer, they can't see down," he said.
Deputy Commissioner Gaughan later added that he believed the 16-year-old girl was the youngest female to be put in a spit hood.
He said he had not consulted with other jurisdictions on the safe replacement of the spit hood.
ACT Greens want to see spit hood banned
Andrew Braddock, an ACT MLA, said while he did not believe anyone should be spat at while carrying out their work, he thought there was a better system than using spit hoods.
He said he planned to "speak to key stakeholders and advocates" in the coming weeks, about the best mechanism to introduce a territory-wide ban.
He said he was concerned about the human rights of the detainees.
"This is a very, degrading, barbaric treatment to actually utilise within our system. The ACT corrective system don't actually utilise spit hoods, but unfortunately the ACT police still do.
"There's got to be a better way that we can actually do this."
He noted that the ACT was one of the few jurisdictions continuing to use spit hoods.
"They're banned in SA, they're not used in most other state jurisdictions," he said.
"ACT is actually in the minority here, where, with Queensland and Northern Territory, are the only remaining jurisdictions that actually utilise spit hoods."
'Cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment': ACT Human Rights Commission
In a statement, the ACT Human Rights Commission said spit hoods could pose a "serious risk of suffocation" and called on the ACT government to follow South Australia and ban the restraints on adult and child detainees.
"Whether by police or in our correctional, youth justice centres and secure mental health facilities," the statement said.
"The use of spit hoods could constitute cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment when used to punish or coerce, and may further compound trauma for vulnerable individuals.
"There are other effective, less restrictive and less risky measures, such as PPE and face-shields, that can minimise risk to all involved in such incidents."
Change the Record, a First Nations-led justice coalition, welcomed the potential reform.
"I think it beggars belief that in the ACT, a human rights jurisdiction, we have these dangerous devices being used on children; let alone anyone else in our community," executive officer Sophie Trevitt said.
Ms Trevitt, who is also a solicitor, said it was confusing why the Chief Police Officer "would insist that spit hoods are necessary in this jurisdiction" when New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania did not use them.
"What we know is that spit hoods have been implicated in the deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody in this country, as well as First Nations people in the UK and the US," she said.
"Spit hoods are just one factor that increases the risk of harm to that individual."
Mr Braddock said he hoped to bring the debate about a potential ban on spit hoods to the Legislative Assembly "before the end of the year."
In a statement, Police Minister Mick Gentleman said ACT Policing members were "trained to de-escalate situations and resort to use of force in exceptional circumstances".
"All actions by ACT Policing are subject to scrutiny, including through Professional Standards, the Ombudsman and Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity," he said.
