POLICE — SPIT HOODS
1058. Hon Dr BRIAN WALKER to the minister representing the
Minister for Police:
I
refer the minister to legislative and administrative decisions made in recent
months in South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory to ban
the use of spit hoods in police watch houses.
(1) Do WA police
use or currently have access to spit hoods?
(2) If yes to
(1), in what circumstances are spit hoods deployed and on whose authority?
(3) If yes to
(1), are there any plans to phase out the use of spit hoods by WA police and
replace them with other types of personal protective equipment, as has been the
case elsewhere?
(4) If no to (3),
why not, given what is clearly a national trend?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following information has been provided to me
by the Minister for Police. The Western Australia Police Force advises the
following.
(1) Yes.
(2) They are only
used in the Perth watch house on occasions when an adult detainee is assaulting
officers by spitting at them. The authority resides with the officer who uses
the hood, overseen by a supervisor, with the requirement that an officer must
physically remain with the detainee. The officer must notify the shift
supervisor and the hood must immediately be removed when there is no longer a risk
to officers.
(3) No.
(4) There are currently no viable alternatives to protect
Perth watch house officers from being assaulted by spittle.