Spit hood

A spit hood,[1] spit mask, mesh hood[1] or spit guard[1] is a restraint device intended to prevent a person from spitting or biting.[1]

History

Proponents, often including police unions and associations, say the spit hoods can help protect personnel from exposure to serious infections like hepatitis[1] and that in London, 59% of injecting drug users test positive for hepatitis C.[2]

According to The New York Times, spit hoods have been involved in several deaths in law enforcement custody."[3] Several studies have concluded that the risk of transmission of disease from spitting was low.[4] According to OSHA regulations saliva is considered potentially infectious for hepatitis C, HIV and other bloodborne pathogens only if visible blood is present.[5]

The spit hoods have been criticised for breaching human rights guidelines. Critics describe the hoods as primitive, cruel, and degrading.[1] Some British police chiefs have privately expressed concerns that the hoods are reminiscent of those used at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.[1] A decision by the Metropolitan Police Service in London to start using spit hoods was condemned by the human rights group Amnesty International, the civil rights group Liberty and the campaign group Inquest.[1] Many major British police forces have chosen not to use spit hoods.[1]

The use of spit hoods and restraint chairs at the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in the Northern Territory, Australia lead to the establishment of the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory.[6]

See also

References
  1. Dodd, Vikram (6 September 2016). "Met police to start using spit hoods on suspects within weeks". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  2. The Centre for Public Safety. "Spit Guards: The case for protecting police officers against infectious diseases". Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  3. Closson, Troy; Shanahan, Ed (3 September 2020). "Black Man Died of Suffocation After Officers Put Hood on Him". The New York Times.
  4. Morris, Scott (12 August 2019). "Justified by myth, spit hoods can kill". OAKLAND REPORTER.
  5. https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.1030. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. Hunter, Fergus (27 July 2016). "Malcolm Turnbull calls royal commission into youth abuse at Northern Territory's Don Dale detention centre". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
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