Enforcers want to use anti-spit hoods on suspects

Enforcement officers want to be able to use anti-spit hoods to better protect themselves against the coronavirus. When enforcing coronavirus rules, enforcers often get threatened or spat on. A spit hood is a guaze-like masks that can be pulled over a person's head, allowing them to breathe, but leaving them unable to spit on anyone but themselves, RTL Nieuws reports.

The mayors that head the 25 security councils in the Netherlands support this request. They will urge Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus of Justice and Security to give enforcers the authority to use spit hoods during the weekly Security Council meeting on Monday.

Some police units in the Netherlands are already using spit hoods. Grapperhaus called it unacceptable that police officers are spat on during their work. But for enforcement officers, he thinks spit hoods are going too far, because it involves a deprivation of freedom.

In a letter to Grapperhaus, the mayors on the Security Council said that they find it "just as unacceptable" that enforcement officers are spat on during their work. They point out that enforcers now have to use force to prevent someone from spitting on them. That is not necessary with a spit hood, the mayors said, according to the broadcaster.