Agenda item

Report of the Commissioner.

Members considered a report of the Commissioner regarding the introduction of Spit and Bite Guards and the following points were made.

·         The Commissioner reported that a spit and bite guard had been applied on two occasions since April 2019. The circumstances of both applications had been fully reviewed to ensure officers had applied their training and that the guards had been appropriately applied.

·         The Commissioner outlined the circumstances of one application of a spit and bite guard, on a shoplifting suspect on 10 May 2019. The application of the guard to the suspect had been the culmination of ten distinct stages to the overall situation, commencing with the officer inviting the suspect to calm down.

·         The application of a guard was up to the individual officer concerned (i.e. an officer would never be ordered to apply a guard). Moreover, the guards were designed to be as transparent as possible to reduce the suspect’s sensory deprivation. To date, no complaints had been received. All officers who were trained in the application of guards were issued with a single guard, and guards would not normally be reissued until the officer’s original guard had been used i.e. an officer would not be able to stockpile a number of guards in their possession.

·         In response to a question, the Commissioner replied that the use of spit and bite guards had not been reviewed by the Independent Advisory Group (IAG), but the Equalities and Inclusion Officer who advised the IAG had inspected the guards. The Commissioner noted that the Force was open to visits by either the IAG or Members of the Authority to observe training sessions.

·         In response to a question, the Commissioner confirmed that the application of a guard would be recorded as a use of force.

·         The Town Clerk agreed to liaise with the Force to enable Members of the Authority to attend use of force training.

RESOLVED, that the report be received.