There is a better way to handle something like this. Let’s assume you are a jailer that is spit on by a prisoner and the prisoner can’t make bail for a few days. Don’t hit the prisoner, but when you are on duty and meals are served, make it a point to take that prisoners meal to him/her personally. When you put the meal in the cell, just smile and say remember when you spit on me yesterday and smile. Do it every meal when you are on duty.
Don’t really do anything that could get you in trouble but have fun.
I just remembered something. We used to keep one of those big black electrical rubber gloves and a big jar of Vaseline on a visible shelf in the booking room.
By the way, I was a patrol Deputy but there were times we had to book a prisoner ourselves.