Police given green light on spit guards
SPIT guards are going to be deployed to Leicestershire Police officers.
Chief Constable Simon Cole said that the controversial piece of kit will be made available to front line officers.
The fine mesh guards are designed to be placed over the mouths of offenders who try to spit at officers and police staff.
A growing number of forces are introducing them and Home Secretary Amber Rudd told a national Police Federation Conference earlier this year that she supported their use
However, they have been described as “cruel and dangerous” by some human rights organisations, including Amnesty International.
Mr Cole announced the move – which is understood to have the support of the vast majority of his officers – in his regular online video update.
He said: “We can’t carry on with officers and staff being spat at.
“It’s an unpleasant thing to do anyway, but in some cases it has potentially some medical consequences associated with it.”
He stressed that the force had chosen a design which covers only the mouth area, leaving the nose and ears uncovered.
Some in use in other forces hood the entire head.
Officers suffering spit attacks often undergo tests for infectious diseases that can be transmitted through saliva.
Approximately a quarter of Leicestershire police officers have been spat at while on duty in the past year, according to a survey by Leicestershire Police Federation.
Tiff Lynch, chairman of the federation, said it was compelling evidence of the need to equip officers with spit guards.
Ms Lynch said the survey also revealed 96 per cent support among officers for the kit.
She told our sister paper The Leicester Mercury: “I have heard some people opposed to the police using spit guards, talking about human rights.
“But what about the human rights of police officers who are trying to serve their communities and find themselves used as punch bags, being spat at or even bitten?”
One officer said at the time of the survey: “A suspect spat in mine and a colleague’s faces. I found the whole experience degrading and disgusting..
“I would rather he had punched or kicked me instead.
“I had to contact the force’s occupational health department and then had to go to Glenfield Hospital for a blood test to check whether my hepatitis B immunity levels were satisfactory.”