The use of spit hoods on children should be banned through legislation in the Northern Territory with the region's youth commissioner describing the devices as dangerous and dehumanising.
The Children's Commissioner's office on Tuesday released a position paper on the use of spit hoods, calling for the bans currently imposed by police and corrections to be enshrined in law.
The paper said the devices were not safe under any circumstances and were highly likely to harm the child.
It found there was no evidence spit hoods had a calming or therapeutic effect.
"Hooding of any child can be panic-inducing," the paper said.
"A child who is in a situation where police find it necessary to use a spit hood are also likely to have experienced trauma in their childhood or have a physical and mental impairment.
"To use a spit hood on a child in this context is dehumanising and dangerous. There is no safe way to use a spit hood on a child."
Spit hoods were banned in the Territory's youth detention facilities five years ago and in October were the subject of an operational ban by NT police.
While there's been no evidence of their use since, police confirmed they had been employed 27 times in the period between 2018 and the 2022 decision, including once on a 12-year-old child.
In its paper, the office of children's commissioner said a range of other measures could be used, including de-escalation techniques, and called for frequent and mandatory training in such methods.
The paper acknowledged that police officers had a right to be safe in their workplace, but said there was overwhelming evidence that spit hoods were not effective in preventing the spread of any communicable diseases.
"Ultimately, these restraints are ineffective and inhumane," it said.
"Spit hoods do not meet the asserted needs of police or increase the safety of the community. Our children deserve better."
Responding to the paper, Minister for Territory Families Kate Worden said the government was satisfied that spit hoods were no longer in use in detention centres and police cells.
"We've already got that in place. That won't be changing," the minister told reporters.
