14 April 2023

The ACT Human Rights Commissioner, Dr Helen Watchirs is heartened by the announcement that spithoods will no longer be used by ACT Policing or by the AFP nationally.

“The AFP’s review of the use of spithoods was professionally undertaken, and the ACT Human Rights Commission welcomed the opportunity to speak to the team and make a written submission,” Dr Watchirs said.

“In our view, spithoods can pose a serious risk of suffocation and are not the least restrictive means necessary to detain people. Therefore their use by force is not reasonable nor proportionate.

“We agree that spithoods are ineffective in protecting against transmissible disease, and other more effective means are available such as personal protective equipment (PPE), as used in correctional detention.”

“Discontinuing the use of spithoods allays our concerns about using them on young people; and a lack of disaggregated data about their use.

“There is evidence from other jurisdictions that they have been used disproportionately on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. A spithood was implicated in the death of Wayne Fella Morrison in South Australia, and South Australia banned the use of spithoods in 2021, via legislation.

“In October 2022, the Commission also raised the issue of whether using spithoods at the ACT watchhouse could constitute inhumane and degrading treatment, with the UN Sub-Committee Against Torture during their visit to Canberra.”