Police in Canberra used a spit hood to restrain a 16-year-old girl who was arrested in the city and became violent with officers.
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Spit hoods are mesh masks placed over a detainees' head to prevent them spitting or biting but can create a risk of suffocation if used incorrectly.
ACT Chief Police Officer Neil Gaughan told a budget estimates hearing on Monday spit hoods were seldom used in the territory.
"They are considered safe when used in accordance with the instruction. Once a person's placed in a holding cell, the spit hood is removed. They are not generally carried by frontline operational police officers. It's a rare event that it's used," Deputy Commissioner Gaughan said.
"As an example, we had a person in the watch house recently who, when being charged, was biting the inside of their mouth until such time as it started to bleed and then they spat at my officers.
"A spit hood was used in that circumstance to stop that person from spitting and then placed in the cell and the spit hood was removed."
Between March 1, 2020 and August 14, 2022, there were 26 reports involving 31 officers of police being spat at or being bitten.
"Having been spat at myself as an operational police officer - I'd rather be smacked in the mouth than spat at, to be honest. I think it's an abhorrent act to undertake," Deputy Commissioner Gaughan said.
Police were asked at the hearing by the Greens' Andrew Braddock about the use of the hoods, which have been linked to deaths in custody and inhumane treatment of prisoners.
Deputy Commissioner Gaughan said they were not used on children in the territory, but police did not hold precise data on their use.
"We've had a 16-year-old in the city who was aggressive ... she was taken into the watch house for refusing to give up her alcohol, and she spat at and kicked at police," he said.
"But as far as under the age of 16, [I have] no recollection or no memory - no record, I should say, of that being undertaken."
Deputy Commissioner Gaughan said the use of spit hoods was recorded by police in a category that also recorded the use of handcuffs and capsicum spray.
"It would require manual interrogation for us - basically going through every case to determine in what instances spit hoods have been used," he said.
Asked why the ACT had not moved to alternative methods of restraining people being detained, Deputy Commissioner Gaughan said spit hoods remained the safest option.
"We believe that it puts greater risks on my members and the individual. That's it," he said.
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Mr Braddock said in a statement he was deeply concerned ACT Policing was unable to report on the use of spit hoods.
"Spit hoods are not used in most places in Australia because they are traumatic and potentially lethal devices. They have been implicated in the deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in custody across Australia," Mr Braddock said.
"I encourage the ACT government and ACT Policing to explore what other measures can be used in the ACT."
Spit hoods have faced frequent calls for nationwide bans, after an Indigenous man died in a South Australian prison in 2016 after being restrained with the device.
The South Australian parliament became the first state to ban spit hoods in November 2021.
A copy of Australian Federal Police commissioner's order which governs the use of spit hoods, released under freedom of information laws, said officers must, when considering using a spit hood, consider "their safety and that of other persons and the person in custody" and "the nature of the offence or breach of law" among other factors.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
