Question
Provide an update on the implementation of each of the 14 recommendations made by PONI in relation to the use of Spit and Bite Guards. Please state if they have been completed, if not the timetable for implementation.
Answer
Recommendation 1: Training Compliance Rates
The Police Ombudsman has recommended that, as a priority, consideration be given to implementing a deadline date for the training to be completed by eligible officers/staff. Depending on all of the circumstances, the officers/staff who do not undertake the mandatory training may be subject to conduct/management measures under the Police (Performance and Attendance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016. It was also the Ombudsman’s view that there are no circumstances in which an untrained officer should be in possession or have access to a Spit and Bite Guard.
This recommendation is considered complete.
Direction has been issued to supervisors, to manage the training within their teams and ensure that all officers and staff complete the on-line training package. The Assistant Chief Constable for Operational Support Department has issued communications to emphasise the mandatory training requirement and to ensure that a Spit and Bite Guard will only be supplied or used on completion of the training.
Operational and Tactical Development Unit (OTDU) continues to provide dedicated weekly monitoring, ensuring that officers and staff who have deployed a Spit and Bite Guard have completed mandatory on-line training.
Compliance information has been provided to District Commanders and Heads of Department for proactive management of this important issue.
3,920 officers are eligible to carry a Spit and Bite Guard. A total of 3912 officers/staff had completed training on 15 November 2021.
The Police College will now incorporate the Spit and Bite Guard training into the Student Officer Training Programme to ensure that student officers are fully trained prior to attesting from the Police College and being assigned to operational duties. Police staff working within the custody suite will also have the training incorporated into Custody training.
The Police Ombudsman is satisfied that this has led to a significant increase in officers completing the training programme in the use of Spit and Bite Guards.
Recommendation 2: Recording Deployment of Spit and Bite Guard as Use of Force
The Police Ombudsman recommended that police circulate guidance to all relevant officers/staff to remind them of their obligations in accordance with PSNI instruction and training; to complete a Use of Force form as practicable and in any event, prior to the termination of duty.
This recommendation is considered complete.
Guidance was circulated to all relevant officers/staff to remind them of their obligations in accordance with Police Service instruction and training relating to recording the deployment of a Spit and Bite Guard. This guidance also reinforced the requirement to complete a Use of Force form as soon as practicable and in any event, prior to the termination of duty.
Work is underway to include a prompt on Niche, Control Works and Custody systems for officers to complete a Use of Force form when force is used.
A mobile Use of Force app is also being explored to enable officers to complete the form in the mobile working environment.
The Police Ombudsman recommended that police should consider updating the training video on Spit and Bite Guards to remind officers that they must verbally report any Use of Force to their immediate supervisor in accordance with the PSNI Manual of Policy, Procedure and Guidance on Conflict Management.
This recommendation is ongoing and will be completed in January 2022.
A new online ‘LEARN’ training video is currently being developed which is informed by the recommendations of the Police Ombudsman. This video will remind officers that they must verbally report any Use of Force to their immediate supervisor in accordance with the Police Service Manual of Policy, Procedure and Guidance on Conflict Management. A Use of Force form will then be completed as soon as practicable and before termination of duty.
Recommendations 4, 5 & 6: Body Worn Video
BWV should be activated while outside the custody suite by the officer deploying the guard and remain activated for the duration of the deployment
This recommendation is assessed as ongoing and will be completed in January 2022.
Policy on the use of Spit and Bite Guards has been amended in accordance with this recommendation and now states:
Body Worn Video (BWV) MUST be used when applying Spit and Bite Guards outside the custody suite. The custody suite is defined as the area inside the building which is covered by CCTV. It does not include the car park or vehicle dock. BWV must be activated by the officer/staff deploying the Spit and Bite Guard. BWV must remain activated for the duration of the deployment. Any encounters without a recording will require a reasoned explanation which will need to be agreed by a supervisor.
Communication was also sent to officers and staff on 3 May 2021 to reinforce the above requirements under policy.
Responding to concerns identified by the Police Ombudsman, a new project has commenced. Supervisors who review a use of force incident are now also required to review the related body worn video. This approach is intended to identify and address issues arising in relation to general officer behaviour.
The new online training video will also include references to activating Body Worn Video and this is due to be completed by January 2022.
Recommendation 7: ‘Single Use’ Spit and Bite Guards
The Police Ombudsman recommended that police provide clear guidance regarding what is meant by ‘single use’. Training and guidance updates should ensure that operational officers fully understand the circumstances in which a new Spit and Bite Guard should be applied.
This recommendation is assessed as ongoing and will be completed in January 2022, linked to the roll out of the new online training video.
Instructions defining “single use” were circulated to all officers and staff on 15 June 2021. Policy has been updated as follows:
A Spit and Bite Guard should not be allowed to become saturated or filled with fluid or solids of any description. If this occurs, the Spit and Bite Guard must be replaced with a new one.
If you have applied a Spit and Bite Guard to a subject and it is removed or otherwise dislodges from the subject, it must be replaced with a new one.
A Spit and Bite Guard must only be used on one subject and must never be applied to another person.
A Spit and Bite Guard should be disposed of as a biohazard and evidential notes made regarding the circumstances of removal.
Recommendation 8 ‘Presumption’ Against Use on Children and Other Vulnerable Persons
The Police Ombudsman recommended that the PSNI should provide clear guidance regarding what is meant by the ‘presumption’ that a SBG will not be used on children and other vulnerable persons who have a mental health or another debilitating condition.
This recommendation is assessed as ongoing and will be completed by January 2022.
It is accepted that language around the word ‘presumption’ may have been confusing for some officers. A balance needs to be struck between protecting police officers, protecting members of the public and minimising the impact on any person under 18 who engages with police in a confrontational situation.
Some additional research is underway around how officers can potentially confirm the age of a subject prior to deployment; how other use of force tactics, such as handcuffs and batons etc., are managed for under 18s; how supervisors, local senior officers and Professional Standards Department can provide necessary oversight on any such uses; and how the Police Service can better engage with Social Services.
On 10 November 2021, the Senior Executive Team agreed that the language around the word ‘presumption’ required clarification and that more precise instruction on the use of Spit and Bite Guards on under 18s was needed. To this end, the Conflict Management Manual, which contains Chapter 16: The Use of Spit and Bite Guards, was amended in November 2021 to include a bespoke section entitled ‘Children’. This section now contains very clear instruction to officers and staff regarding the use of the tactic on children, emphasising that its use must be absolutely necessary in the circumstances. The following steps must also be taken:
- Specific and additional rationale for the use on a child must be provided by the deploying officer in their formal use of force report (including how they considered and discounted other options);
- The officer’s supervisor and a local senior officer (at least Chief Inspector) will be obliged to view the related body worn video footage;
- Where the supervisor or local senior officer identify any concerns in terms of the deployment, Professional Standards Department will be informed and will i) view the footage, and ii) assess if there are any discipline matters or matters of organisational learning arising;
- A local senior officer (again at least Chief Inspector) will inform Social Services of the circumstances, given that the incident has the potential to become an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE).
A communication has been sent to all officers advising of this amendment to policy. The revised section on ‘Children’ will be included in the new E-Learning training package which will be available to eligible officers and staff in January 2022.
Recommendation 9: Training on the Correct Application of a Spit and Bite Guard
The Police Ombudsman recommended that police circulate a reminder to all relevant officers/staff to remind them of their relevant training in this area.
This recommendation is assessed as being complete.
On 15 June 2021, communication was circulated to remind all officers and staff of the relevant sections of Chapter 16 of the Conflict Management Manual, including the need to ensure that involved persons are secured by way of handcuffing to the rear to prevent them from removing or adjusting the Spit and Bite Guard. Similarly, officers and staff have been advised on how to remove a Spit and Bite Guard safely.
Recommendation 10: Type of Spit and Bite Guard Procured by PSNI
Further research should be considered in partnership with other police services using the Spit Guard Pro in order to establish if there is any consistency to the concerns expressed with regards to finding the front of the Guard.
This recommendation is assessed as complete.
The Police Ombudsman has been informed that the manufacturer of the Spit Guard Pro has no current plans to place markers on the product to distinguish between the front and back. All supervisors have been directed to show officers and staff a Spit and Bite Guard during briefings to allow them to familiarise themselves with the product prior to potential deployment. Other alternatives to Spit and Bite Guards are being considered through the National Police Chief’s Council Self Defence, Arrest and Restraint Group (SDAR). The Police Service will continue to engage with ongoing research.
Recommendation 11: Training Video
The training video depicts a compliant person. In many cases, the person to whom the Spit and Bite Guard has been applied, is actively resisting the application of the Spit and Bite Guard and/or being aggressive towards police. Therefore, the training is unrealistic. Should the circumstances allow in relation to the pandemic, the Police Ombudsman recommended that Spit and Bite Guard training should involve practical / face-to-face training which provides officers with the opportunity to apply a Spit and Bite Guard to both compliant and non-compliant persons.
This recommendation is assessed as ongoing and will be completed in January 2022.
The new training video will depict both a compliant and non-compliant person.
Discussion is ongoing with the Police College in relation to a full return to face-to-face Personal Safety (PSP) training which may include viewing the training video prior to a practical class.
At this time, the online training video remains the primary source of knowledge for officers and staff with theory and practical application reinforced during PSP training. Face-to-face PSP covers the application of restraints and handcuffs which is how officers would deal with a non-compliant person who is spitting.
Recommendation 12: Trained Officers
The Police Ombudsman recommended that police circulate a reminder to all relevant officers/staff to remind them of their obligation in accordance with PSNI instruction and training that a ‘subject’ wearing a Spit and Bite Guard MUST NOT be in the custody or care of a Police Officer / Civilian Detention Officer who has not received training in Spit and Bite Guards.
This recommendation is assessed as complete.
Instructions were circulated on 16 July 2021, to reiterate the direction to all officers and staff that, where a Spit and Bite Guard has been applied, the person must not be left in the custody or care of a person who has not received training in Spit and Bite Guards. It was emphasised that it is the responsibility of the officer deploying the Spit and Bite Guard to ensure that the subjected person is left in the care of a trained officer or staff member.
In cases of doubt, officers and staff have been encouraged to proactively enquire and confirm whether a colleague is trained in the use of Spit and Bite Guards.
Policy on the use of Spit and Bite Guards has also been updated to reflect this instruction.
Recommendation 13: Personal Protective Equipment
The Police Ombudsman recommended that police circulate a reminder to all relevant officers / staff to remind them of their responsibility to wear Personal Protective Equipment and the importance of same.
This recommendation is assessed as complete.
A communication was circulated to officers and staff on 16 July 2021, to reassert the requirement to ensure that the correct Personal Protective Equipment is worn, in line with the current response by the Police Service to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recommendation 14: Consistent Use of the Term ‘Spit and Bite Guard’
The Police Ombudsman recommended that police circulate a reminder to all relevant officers / staff that the appropriate term for this use of force is ‘Spit and Bite Guard’ or SBG. The term ‘spit hood’ should be avoided.
This recommendation is assessed as complete.
A communication was circulated on 16 July 2021 to remind officers and staff that the appropriate term for the product is ‘Spit and Bite Guard’ and that ‘Spit Hood/Hood’ must not be used due to the potential sensitivities and community concerns regarding this terminology
Dolores Kelly - SDLP