The Australian Federal Police (AFP), which includes ACT Policing, has stopped its controversial use of spit hoods, conceding its own review had found the practice posed unjustifiable risks.
ACT's Chief Police Officer Neil Gaughan last year revealed officers had used a spit hood on a 16-year-old girl at the Canberra City watch house.
"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," Mr Gaughan said at the time.
But he insisted officers had only used the measure, designed to protect law enforcement from saliva and blood, on rare occasions.
He said spit hoods had never been used on children aged under 16 in the territory.
The ACT Human Rights Commission, ACT Greens and Indigenous advocates had called for spit hoods to be banned, in line with changes already made in other jurisdictions, including South Australia.
The AFP's use of spit hoods also drew the ire of the United Nations Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture after the Human Rights Commission approached the group, prompting it to visit Canberra in October last year.
Spit hoods ineffective against transmissible diseases
In a statement released on Friday, an AFP spokesperson announced a spit hood ban had taken effect, after an internal review into the practice.
The probe concluded that spit hoods posed a risk to detainees, while also being inadequate at protecting officers from the dangers of spitting offences.
"Even though spit hoods were only used on limited occasions by ACT Policing, and not used at all across the broader AFP, they were not sufficient to prevent transmissible diseases," the AFP statement said.
"The review found the risk of using spit hoods outweighed the benefits of their use, given they are ineffective in protecting against transmissible diseases.
"The AFP … has stopped using spit hoods, and is providing equipment and implementing procedures to better protect members from spitting and biting," the statement added.
Human Rights Commissioner welcomes decision
ACT Human Rights Commissioner Helen Watchirs said she was "heartened" by the announcement spit hoods would no longer be used by ACT Policing or by the AFP nationally.
She said the the AFP's review of the use of spit hoods had been professionally undertaken, and the Commission welcomed the opportunity to speak to the team and make a written submission on the topic.
"In our view, spit hoods can pose a serious risk of suffocation and are not the least restrictive means necessary to detain people. Therefore their use by force is not reasonable nor proportionate," Ms Watchirs said.
"Discontinuing the use of spit hoods allays our concerns about using them on young people; and about a lack of disaggregated data on their use.
"There is evidence from other jurisdictions that they have been used disproportionately on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
"In October 2022, the Commission also raised the issue of whether using spit hoods at the ACT watch house could constitute inhumane and degrading treatment, with the UN Sub-Committee Against Torture, during their visit to Canberra."
The controversial practice was thrust into the spotlight in 2016 after footage emerged of spit hoods being used on children in the Northern Territory's Don Dale youth detention centre, prompting a royal commission.
The Northern Territory government has since banned the practice being used on minors, while the Queensland Police Service has banned spit hoods in its watch houses altogether.
