Spit Hoods: Reforms to Law and Practice.

Abstract

Spit hoods have been used for decades to reduce the ability of people to spit and bite police officers, corrective services officers, paramedics, doctors and nurses. However, historically and in public consciousness they have sinister resonances and often induce fear, panic and distress in persons to whom they are applied or in whose presence they are worn. Problematically frequently spit hoods have been used on detainees from ethnic minorities, including in Australia, on Indigenous persons, individuals with mental illnesses and children taken into custody. On a number of occasions spit hoods have been used with other forms of restraint and been associated with deaths in custody. This editorial reviews high profile cases internationally where spit hoods have played a role in precipitating deaths, important reports and reviews, including from coroners, ombudsmen and commissions of inquiry, into their abuse, and law reform in relation to spit hoods. It supports their abandonment and their replacement with other personal protective equipment options for maintaining custodians' and carers' occupational health and safety.