phil d
Well-known member
At the weekend I heard something that disturbed me very much indeed, a police force is looking at using spit hoods, some police forces currently do, some don't, for those unfamiliar with this piece of kit it's a mesh bag that is placed over someone's head to prevent them spitting at you. They can see through it, they can breathe through it, what they cannot do is spit through it, it stays inside the hood.
Now spitting is not only a vile habit, it can also transmit diseases, if you are unlucky enough to be spat at and it enters a bodily orifice or an open wound then it can take 6 months of tests before you find out if you have caught anything, during this time you have to take all kinds of precautions to avoid passing on anything that you may or may not have caught.
Now it would appear that a certain civil liberties group is objecting to the use of these hoods as they infringe a persons human rights, not only that but they are, allegedly, a cruel and unusual punishment, how stupid is that I ask.
Just how far would this group go to defend peoples rights? If someone wishes to play loud music at 3am, and it disturbs others, should they be allowed to do so because it's their "human right" to enjoy themselves? Should someone be allowed to get blind drunk and drive their car, because it is their "human right"? Even more alarming, if said neighbour plays loud music and keeps me awake, should I be allowed to go round and stab him, because it is my "human right" to get a good nights sleep?
I remember one afternoon and there was a guy trying to make a citizens arrest on some youth who'd stolen his son's bicycle the night before, the guy was obviously a junkie and was lashing out and spitting at him. I stopped to help and the first thing I did, after the junkie spat at me was to take him to the floor, hard! When the police arrived I advised the officer about the spitting and he was kept face down on the ground until a van arrived to take him away. Spitting isn't nice, it's disgusting, and I think that anyone who says that spit hoods are an infringement of a persons human rights needs to be put in a position where they are getting spat at and then see how they feel.
The world has gone mad, with this civil liberties stuff these days, it's the same with "stop and search", people are objecting to that now, if the police can't stop a suspect then how are they to know if that person is carrying drugs or weapons? If you are not carrying anything you shouldn't then why fear being stopped? An interesting one I heard over the weekend concerned police dogs, due to government cuts a lot of forces have had to reduce the numbers of dogs they operate, now after the recent attacks in London, the government are requesting that officers with dogs patrol around the houses of parliament, blooming cheek!
Now spitting is not only a vile habit, it can also transmit diseases, if you are unlucky enough to be spat at and it enters a bodily orifice or an open wound then it can take 6 months of tests before you find out if you have caught anything, during this time you have to take all kinds of precautions to avoid passing on anything that you may or may not have caught.
Now it would appear that a certain civil liberties group is objecting to the use of these hoods as they infringe a persons human rights, not only that but they are, allegedly, a cruel and unusual punishment, how stupid is that I ask.
Just how far would this group go to defend peoples rights? If someone wishes to play loud music at 3am, and it disturbs others, should they be allowed to do so because it's their "human right" to enjoy themselves? Should someone be allowed to get blind drunk and drive their car, because it is their "human right"? Even more alarming, if said neighbour plays loud music and keeps me awake, should I be allowed to go round and stab him, because it is my "human right" to get a good nights sleep?
I remember one afternoon and there was a guy trying to make a citizens arrest on some youth who'd stolen his son's bicycle the night before, the guy was obviously a junkie and was lashing out and spitting at him. I stopped to help and the first thing I did, after the junkie spat at me was to take him to the floor, hard! When the police arrived I advised the officer about the spitting and he was kept face down on the ground until a van arrived to take him away. Spitting isn't nice, it's disgusting, and I think that anyone who says that spit hoods are an infringement of a persons human rights needs to be put in a position where they are getting spat at and then see how they feel.
The world has gone mad, with this civil liberties stuff these days, it's the same with "stop and search", people are objecting to that now, if the police can't stop a suspect then how are they to know if that person is carrying drugs or weapons? If you are not carrying anything you shouldn't then why fear being stopped? An interesting one I heard over the weekend concerned police dogs, due to government cuts a lot of forces have had to reduce the numbers of dogs they operate, now after the recent attacks in London, the government are requesting that officers with dogs patrol around the houses of parliament, blooming cheek!