Latest news with #youth detention
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
What is a spit hood and why do police and prison guards use them?
Spit hoods have long been controversial in Australia. Some support police and prison guards using them on people in custody to protect themselves from spitting, while others say they're too risky and infringe on the human rights of those forced to wear them. The Northern Territory government announced this week it was reinstating the use of spit hoods in youth detention, eight years after the practice was banned. So how are spit hoods used and what are the laws in other states? What are spit hoods and how do they work? A spit hood is a mesh face covering — sometimes known as a safety hood or anti-spit guard — that police and correctional officers place over a person's head to prevent themselves being spat on. NT Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley said the latest spit hoods the territory was using contained a cellophane interior to capture spital, and had been "well tested and researched around the world". Matthew Varley says the NT's spit hoods are made of a translucent netting material, with a cellophane interior that blocks spit. ( ABC News ) The non-permeable piece of material near the wearer's mouth makes breathing more difficult. Why are spit hoods controversial? There have been multiple deaths in custody across Australia in incidents associated with spit hoods. Australia's Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay says spit hoods pose "significant risks of injury and death, and that their use is contrary to human rights". Spit hoods are made of a mesh netting with a cellophane material near the mouth. ( Supplied ) Along with restricted breathing, the NT ombudsman found that intoxicated inmates were at a higher risk of vomiting while wearing a spit hood. A 2017 royal commission into juvenile justice and child protection in the territory recommended spit hoods be outlawed. NT Children's Commissioner Shahleena Musk says the territory is the only jurisdiction that's now going back to using spit hoods on children, which she said was an "incredibly risky" move that defied the advice of international experts. Selena Uibo says the $50 million royal commission found that spit hoods were "not fit for purpose". ( ABC News: Michael Donnelly ) NT Opposition Leader Selena Uibo said while the safety of custodial officers was important, the NT government was "ignoring" expert evidence and "input from those frontline workers directly". Mindy Sotiri, executive director of Justice Reform Initiative, said spit hoods would not make the community safer while causing more harm to children in custody. Mindy Sotiri says reintroducing spit hoods won't fix the NT's crime problem. ( ABC News: Sean Tarek Goodwin ) "We know that reintroducing spit hoods, increasing the ability of staff in children's prisons to use more force … will increase the likelihood of children reoffending when they're released," Dr Sotiri said. "When children are mistreated in places of detention, they come out of prison more disconnected, more traumatised, more likely to return to the behaviours that led them into prison in the first place." Why do police use spit hoods? Recent NT Police data, obtained exclusively by the ABC under Freedom of Information laws, revealed multiple instances of officers being spat on inside watch houses over the past six months. NT Police Association president Nathan Finn said officers had to take blood tests to ensure they hadn't contracted a disease after being spat on. "Any assault on police is abhorrent. It should not be happening," he said. Nathan Finn says spitting assaults on police cause officers "mental anguish". ( ABC News: Dane Hirst ) Speaking about the territory's move to bring back spit hoods in youth custody settings, NT Minister Steve Edgington said they were a tool to protect officers. "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 said. What are spit hood laws in each state? Each state and territory has its own laws about the use of spit hoods. Here's a state-by-state breakdown.
ABC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
NT to reinstate use of spit hoods in youth detention, eight years after royal commission sparked ban
The Northern Territory government has flagged it will reinstate the use of spit hoods on young people in youth detention centres, almost eight years after the practice was banned. The proposal is one of several changes to the Youth Justice Act 2005 and Youth Justice Regulations 2006 expected to be introduced and debated in NT parliament this week by the Country Liberal Party (CLP) government. In a statement on Monday, the government said the proposed changes would also include: The CLP pledged during last year's NT election to reintroduce the use of spit hoods on youths if elected to government. On Monday, NT Deputy Chief Minister and Corrections Minister Gerard Maley said the legislative changes would be introduced to parliament as a matter of "urgency", following the stabbing at the weekend of a 15-year-old boy at the Royal Darwin Show. Mr Maley said the "community have had enough" when it came to youth crime in the territory. "This is another piece of legislation we're going to do to make sure Territorians can go to work, go to the show and live in the Northern Territory safely," he said. NT Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley said the proposed amendments were about ensuring "safety and security" for staff and young people in youth detention centres. "These amendments this week are about making sure our staff have the tools, the powers and the procedures to make sure that environment is safe and secure,' he said. "We're wanting to see a change to the past where our officers have been exposed to risk, our officers have been exposed to assault and harm, and our youth detention centres have been damaged and destroyed. Controversy over the NT's use of spit hoods received significant media attention in 2016 following an ABC Four Corners report into the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre, which led to then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announcing a royal commission into juvenile justice and child protection in the territory. In 2017, following the federal government's formal endorsement of a United Nations protocol against torture and inhumane punishments, the NT government stopped the use of spit hoods and restraint chairs in youth detention centres. However, it was not until 2022 that the use of spit hoods for youth in police custody was also banned by the then-Labor government, though the ban was never formalised in legislation. In a statement on Monday, an NT Police Force (NTPF) spokesperson confirmed that since October 2024, spit hoods had once again been made available to use on youths in police watch houses and cells. "The NTPF have strict policies in place for their use", the spokesperson said. NT Children's Commissioner Shahleena Musk said the proposed amendments to the Youth Justice Act reflected a "failure" by the government "to meet with key stakeholders, including legal and social service experts". "It goes against all the evidence of what actually works to try to reduce challenging behaviours, particularly in a custodial setting," she said. "We're the only jurisdiction that is now going back to using spit hoods on children. Ms Musk said she was also concerned about the planned change to ensure detention was no longer a last resort. "[It] is against international law, it's against child rights. It can lead to unjust dispositions by the court, that is not able to then balance the needs of that child against other considerations," she said. Opposition Leader Selena Uibo labelled the government's decision a "reactive, knee-jerk response" that would not have a "holistic impact when it comes to improving community safety". "Everything that these millions and millions of dollars of royal commissions or reports have shown not to do, the CLP is doing," she said. In a statement, the National Network of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls also condemned the proposed amendments and called for "the urgent withdrawal of this legislation". "These proposed changes represent a punitive attack on the rights, dignity, and lives of children in the Northern Territory," said Debbie Kilroy OAM, chief executive of Sisters Inside. Ms Kilroy labelled the re-introduction of spit hoods as a "grotesque failure of leadership", and cited the interstate cases of Wayne Fella Morrison and Selesa Taifaifa — who both died following incidents involving the use of spit hoods — as examples of their "deadly consequences". "Let us be clear: spit hoods are instruments of torture. They are used to degrade, control and silence," Ms Kilroy said. Ms Kilroy also criticised the planned removal of the principle of detention as a last resort. "Many of the children who appear before the courts are themselves victims — victims of violence, poverty, neglect, racism and state failure," she said. "They are not born 'offenders', they are criminalised by a system that was never designed to protect them." The proposed amendments will be introduced to the NT parliament on Tuesday.
BBC News
22-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Young offenders could see sentences reduced under new law change
Young people who are held in youth detention may be able to get time off their sentence for good behaviour in home affairs minister is working on the Criminal Justice (Young Offenders) (Jersey) Amendment which governs how young offenders are Mary Le Hegarat said she wanted to make the changes as the law currently was not "properly aligned" with the same rules for adult would mean that if a young person was well behaved and worked hard they could get up to a third off their sentence.
The Independent
05-06-2025
- General
- The Independent
Sacked police officer says he is seen as ‘abuser' after ‘aggressive' arrest
A former police officer who was sacked because of his 'aggressive' detention of a 15-year-old boy has said he is being treated like an 'abuser' and is appealing his case. Lorne Castle was dismissed by Dorset Police after an independent disciplinary tribunal found that he had committed gross misconduct in relation to the arrest of the youth in Bournemouth town centre on January 27 2024. The ex-police constable had admitted misconduct in relation to breaching the standards of professional behaviour relating to authority, respect and courtesy, conduct and use of force but denied gross misconduct. Following the hearing, a Dorset Police spokesman said that Mr Castle had acted 'inappropriately' as he detained the teenager after receiving reports of two assaults in the seaside town. The spokesman said: 'Pc Castle was seen to use unnecessary and inappropriate words towards the boy and place both his hands on his throat. 'The panel found that Pc Castle failed to act with self-control, did not treat the boy with courtesy or respect. 'His shouting, swearing, finger pointing, taking hold of the boy's face and throat and suggested use of leg restraints was not necessary, reasonable or proportionate.' A video clip of the incident, released by the force on Tuesday, shows the officer tackling the boy to the ground before taking hold of the teenager's face and throat while repeatedly swearing and shouting at him. The boy can be heard shouting and crying 'what have I done' and 'what did I do' before the officer shouts 'stop screaming like a little b****, do you understand that? Shut up'. The teenager also screams 'my f****** neck, get off me, I don't want you on me', while Mr Castle is on top of him. The officer later shouts 'stop resisting or I'm gonna smash you, do you understand?' and says the boy is being arrested on suspicion of assault. Speaking on LBC radio, Mr Castle said that the suspect, who had been wearing a mask, had been 'an unknown risk' and was found to be in possession of a knife during the arrest. The 46-year-old father-of-three said: 'If I'd have known on those circumstances that he had a knife that would have probably been a firearms incident. 'The real danger is the unknown. We knew he was potentially violent, but we didn't know how violent. 'Now, the risk for any police officer is the moment you go to detain someone, until you know you've got them safely detained.' He added that it was a 'scary situation' because he was on the ground with the offender with other people nearby. Mr Castle said he had received thousands of messages of support but felt that people were questioning his nature despite previously having '10 years of exemplary service' and having previously received a bravery award from the Humane Society. A GoFundMe page set up for Mr Castle by a retired police officer has so far raised £49,616. He said: 'I've got a phenomenal family and everyone knows that but people are asking that question now 'am I some sort of abuser?' because I attempted to arrest someone who was potentially violent, who resisted and my risk analysis was 100% correct.' In a statement Dorset Police Federation criticised Dorset Police's decision to release the footage, saying the force had done so 'without also providing context or balance'. The federation added: 'Our view is that the showing of selective clips of an officer's body worn video is not a useful or responsible way to properly inform the public about an incident – and only serves to entice the public into making judgments without having the benefit of all the facts. 'This is not fair or just. ' Dorset's Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Farrell said: 'We are sharing body worn video to address concerns about misinformation and to reassure the public that, while tackling crime in Dorset, our officers will continue to be proactive and robust – but by using their powers proportionately and with respect.'
