The ACT Human Rights Commission has joined calls for the ACT government to ban the use of spit hoods in the territory, after police revealed a 16-year-old girl had recently been restrained with the device.
The commission said it was seriously concerned the police did not have precise data on the use of spit hoods and the device had recently been used to restrain a young person.
"We are calling on the ACT government to take urgent action and follow the South Australian government in banning the use of these restraints on adult and child detainees throughout the territory, whether by police or in our correctional, youth justice centres and secure mental health facilities," the commission said.
Greens spokesman on police Andrew Braddock said on Tuesday he would prepare legislation to ban spit hoods before the end of the year.
"Spit hoods are traumatic and potentially lethal devices that have no place in the ACT as a human rights jurisdiction. I will speak to key stakeholders and advocates about banning the use of spit hoods in the ACT and hope to bring this debate to the Assembly before the end of the year," Mr Braddock said.
A group campaigning to end the high rate of incarceration of First Nations people also called for the government to ban spit hoods.
Change The Record's executive officer, Sophie Trevitt, said it was hard to argue spit hoods should remain in use in the ACT when NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia did not use the devices. They are banned by law in South Australia.
"If there is evidence - which there is - that spit hoods are dangerous devices and when they are coupled with other policing tactics, like other forms of restraint ... and the combination of those activities has resulted in known deaths in custody, I think there is ample justification to ban the use of the device - it's dangerous," Ms Trevitt said.
Ms Trevitt said spit hoods made it harder for police to assess whether a person was breathing and there was other suitable personal protective equipment for officers to wear.
The ACT Human Rights Commission said the use of spit hoods in the ACT could be highly relevant during a visit to Australia in October by the United Nations subcommittee on prevention of torture, which can visit places of detention unannounced, including police watch houses.
The Canberra Times asked Police Minister Mick Gentleman whether he believed it was appropriate for police to use a spit hood on a child and whether he would consider a ban, but received a response from a government spokesman.
The spokesman said the government supported the protection of the health and safety of ACT police and the public.
"ACT Policing members are trained to de-escalate situations and resort to use of force in exceptional circumstances. These are operational decisions for officers and are governed by directions issued by the AFP Commissioner, such as order 3 on operational safety," the spokesman said.
"All actions by ACT Policing are subject to scrutiny, including through professional standards, the ombudsman and Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity."
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