Australian Cops Face Steep Spike in Spitting Incidents by Christopher Knaus

CANBERRA, Australia — Police face steep spike in spitting incidents Health fears for officers By Christopher Knaus Police Reporter Officers patrolling Civic late at night are regularly being spat on, in a growing trend that's raising health fears among the force.
Police were spat on 33 times during 2010-11 and 22 times the previous year. The vast majority of spitting incidents occur in the city, generally late at night.
Officers who are spat on in the mouth, eyes or any lacerations are forced to undergo blood checks for saliva-borne diseases. ACT Policing's north district superintendent Mick Calatzis said the practice was becoming worryingly frequent.
"It's a really common occurrence and we're quite concerned about it," Superintendent Calatzis said.
"We find it a privilege to be police officers in Canberra, and fundamentally we're extremely tolerant, we negotiate with individuals," he said.
"But we don't expect, and I don't think anyone in the community would tolerate, being spat on.
"We don't know what they're trying to achieve."
Those who spit on a police officer in the ACT can be charged under the offence of harming a Commonwealth official. But the adequacy of that offence came under the scrutiny of the ACT Opposition recently, which voiced concerns that it did not properly protect police.
They introduced legislation earlier this month to substantially increase penalties for acts of violence against police. That legislation is still up for consultation.
Opposition Leader Zed Seselja described spitting assaults on officers as "disgraceful."
Mr Seselja said current legislation allowed a degree of impunity for criminals who assaulted police.
"I think it's indicative of a certain disdain in a small part of our community for the police," Mr Seselja said.
"I think we need to send a clear message to that part of our community that it's just unacceptable."
Superintendent Calatzis said the health implications of spitting assaults and the subsequent blood testing caused considerable distress for officers and their families.
"Fundamentally, most people out at night time enjoy the night, which they should and they do, fundamentally, the right thing," Superintendent Calatzis said.
"Sadly, it's only a very small percentage that come to our attention."We also will not hesitate to put a charge in for them assaulting police.
"What we would prefer, is for people not to find this acceptable."
Mr Seselja said the current legislation was weak as it required prosecutors to prove the suspect knew they were assaulting a Commonwealth official.
He said absence of a specific legislative basis for police in the ACT also made it difficult to successfully prosecute police assaults.
Attorney-General Simon Corbell moved to consolidate police powers into a single Police Powers Act this week.
Although mainly administrative in nature, the changes could seek to remove the defence of resisting unlawful arrest.
That defence is commonly used by offenders who assault police.