The Australian Federal Police have launched an internal review into the use of spit hoods in the ACT, following the revelation the devices had recently been used to detain a minor in Canberra.
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The ACT government noted a recommendation from a Legislative Assembly inquiry to review the use of spit hoods by ACT Policing.
"The ACT government has been advised that the AFP Operational Safety Committee will undertake an internal review into the use of spit hoods," the government said in its response to the budget estimates inquiry.
The committee is made up of senior officers within the federal police.
Human rights advocates have continued to put pressure on the ACT government to ban the use of spit hoods, which have been linked to deaths in custody.
The ACT has become the only jurisdiction that allows spit hoods to be used on children, following a decision by the Northern Territory to stop the use of the devices on children in police watchhouses.
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Change the Record executive officer Sophie Trevitt renewed the First Nations-led campaign to end the overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in prison.
Ms Trevitt said the decision by the Northern Territory did not go far enough.
"Spit hoods have been implicated in a number of deaths in custody of adults. It is time for the use of spit hoods on anyone, in any context, to be outlawed in the ACT, the Northern Territory and right around the country," she said.
The ACT Human Rights Commission in August 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 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.
Greens spokesman on police Andrew Braddock at the time said he would prepare legislation to ban the use of spit hoods in the ACT 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.
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