When “people of interest” are arrested and are yet to be charged, they are regarded as “Alleged” offenders. It is at this point that law enforcement agents should be obligated to conceal their identity. In most instances with something like a towel.

• This procedure is a DUTY OF CARE, by law enforcement agents.
• This provides anonymity from media and public.
• In a number of instances, “alleged offenders” are inclined to Spit on law enforcement agents.
• Police want to ensure the integrity of the case is not compromised, especially if identification is an issue.
• Corrective or Prison services may also want to protect inmate identity. e.g., high risk offenders, pedophiles, internal transfers for high profile inmates.
• There is also a legal requirement to protect the identity of “under aged” offenders.

Pol-i-veil – Police identity and spit protection veil. This provides a uniform procedure to protecting the identity of an arrested person and assisting law enforcement – by not getting spat on.

• Current behavior is ad-hoc and left to the initiative of the arresting officer. As such a huge array of improvised coverings may be used.
• Masking the identity with a haphazard covering offers the following disadvantages.
• Law enforcement risk getting spat on.
• The covering may not be secure
• The arrested person may trip due to the covering blinding them
• The covering may be dirty and result in an asthmatic reaction
• The covering may cause the officer to incorrectly handle the arrested person if navigation into a vehicle becomes as issue
• The jumper/towel etc may have an icon brand name on it, that would not want to be associated with the event – possible litigation.
• There may be cross contamination of DNA
• There may be something in the covering that could be used as a weapon against officers
• Spitting by offenders is a growing issue, globally, and current protocol does not combat this issue
• If the arrested individual is under age, it is the officers duty to protect the identity of the person
• Quite simply the current “protocol” carries inherent risk and is not really a Protocol as such