Concerns over use of 'potentially fatal' spit hoods on children

The Children's Rights Alliance for England (Crae) said spit hoods, which are designed to prevent people spitting at police officers when they have been taken into custody, were used on at least 24 children in England in the first nine months of 2016.

This is double the tally for 2015 and Crae believes the true scale of their use on under-18s could be even higher.

The charity is also concerned that children who are made to wear spit hoods are often the most vulnerable in society, who have experience of abuse or have learning or communication difficulties.

"Hooding children is distressing and dangerous," a Crae spokeswoman said.  

"The evidence shows that the children who are in contact with the police are disproportionately likely to have experienced neglect, abuse, been in care, have language or learning difficulties or other vulnerabilities. 

"Putting these children through more trauma by restraining and hooding them is not only damaging but potentially unsafe. Adults have died following the use of spit hoods. Alternatives such as visors or spit guards worn by police officers are used in other forces in England to deal with disgusting incidents of spitting."

Crae is also concerned that the use of spit hoods on children may escalate in London after the Metropolitan Police announced it had trialled their use in all custody suites across London. The decision follows an initial pilot in suites in the north east of the capital.

"We are concerned that this decision has been taken without first publishing an evaluation of the initial trial," the Crae spokeswoman added.

"There must now be a full, public consultation and safety assessment before any final decision is taken about the long-term use of these potentially harmful spit hoods."

The Met Police said in a statement that the initial pilot suggested spit hoods are an "effective, proportionate and necessary" way of protecting police officers.

"The Met has a duty of care to its officers and staff - the issue of spitting and biting is a real problem and a particularly unpleasant form of assault which rightly generates a lot of concern amongst officers," the statement said. 

"Aside from the fact that as an employer the Met cannot expect its staff to be spat at, or think this is acceptable, some of the follow-up treatment required after such an assault can be prolonged and unpleasant."

Spit hoods are currently used by 22 police forces, according to the Met Police.

A freedom of information request by Crae last year found that 17 police forces were using spit hoods, but none were able to supply risk assessments or policies of the potential risks of their use on children.

The same request revealed that the youngest child they were used on in 2016 was 15 years old, and the youngest the year before was aged 13.

Crae's 2016 State of Children's Rights in England report details that the Independent Police Complaints Commission has investigated the deaths of two adults following the use of spit hoods, one in Cambridgeshire in 2009 and the other in Surrey in 2013.