The Northern Territory government is fighting civil claims surrounding the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre, arguing that its use of ‘spit hoods’ on minors was justifiable.
Spit hoods are devices put over prisoners’ heads to prevent them from biting, which look like a bag that goes over the head.
The practice was banned after a royal commission into youth detention, however the device is still being used.
The NT government claim detention officers attempted to keep a young Indigenous prisoner safe, when they left him for an hour, handcuffed with a spit hood on.