Every police officer to carry spit hoods in Kent

About one third of Kent police officers hove been trained to use spit hoods so far.

Every couple of weeks a police officer in Kent is spat at, as they try to arrest a suspect, or when they’re in the station. So to protect them, Kent Police decided in June to give all their officers spit guards. They have been used by police in Sussex for many years.

They can be put over a suspect’s head after they’ve been handcuffed -when officers are worried they might be spat at. Kent Police’s safety trainer, Adam Pilbeam, has has been showing his colleagues how – and when – to use them.