Advocates criticise ‘dangerous' NT plan to reintroduce spit hoods in youth detention centres
Spit hoods are set to return to NT youth detention centres for the first time in almost 10 years as part of youth justice measures debated by the territory parliament this week.
The Country Liberal party government has vowed to table the youth justice legislation 'on urgency' after a 15-year-old was stabbed and seriously injured in front of shocked onlookers at the Royal Darwin Show on Saturday.
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A 15-year-old has been charged, with police alleging the teenager knew the victim.
NT police confirmed in October spit hoods had been made available to use on youths in police watch houses and cells, with strict protocols.
The proposed youth justice law changes would extend the use of the hoods to youth detention centres, reversing a ban imposed eight years ago.
The Aboriginal affairs minister, Steve Edgington, defended the move, saying they were already being used in adult settings.
'When young people come into custody that are spitting, biting their tongue and spitting blood at correctional officers, we want to ensure that our frontline staff are protected,' he told reporters on Tuesday.
'We're hoping that we will never need to use these.'
The CLP promised during the NT election in 2024 to reintroduce spit hoods for youth detainees.
A 2016 ABC Four Corners report into the NT's Don Dale youth detention centre prompted outrage over the use of spit hoods and led to the then prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, announcing a royal commission into juvenile justice in the territory.
The NT government stopped the use of spit hoods and restraint chairs in youth detention centres in 2017, after the federal government's formal endorsement of a United Nations protocol against torture and inhumane punishments.
In 2022, the use of spit hoods for under-18s in police custody was also banned by the then NT Labor government.
A return of spit hoods at youth detention centres has been condemned by advocacy groups who say it breaches international law, will traumatise children and not lead to safer communities.
The Justice Reform Initiative executive director, Mindy Sotiri, said the use of spit hoods was known to seriously harm children and increase the likelihood of reoffending.
'When children are mistreated in places of detention they come out of prison much more disconnected, much more traumatised,' she said.
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Prison guards were being given the power to use devices that were internationally recognised as 'cruel, degrading and inhumane', the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services said.
The Natsils chair, Karly Warner, said children as young as 10 would be subject to the 'dangerous tactic' when they most needed care, support and guidance.
The NT children's commissioner, Shahleena Musk, said the territory was the only Australian jurisdiction reverting to using spit hoods on children.
'This is against international law and is incredibly risky,' she told the ABC.
'It has actually led to deaths in custody in other jurisdictions.'
The NT opposition leader, Selena Uibo, described the youth crime overhaul as 'rushed, kneejerk laws'.
She said Labor needed more information about the safety difference between spit hoods and the new guards.
Other proposed legislative changes by the NT government include considering a youth's full criminal history when sentencing for adult offences and removing detention as a last resort.
Youth justice officers will have greater powers to use reasonable force to 'maintain safety and prevent escapes'.
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