The High Court has dismissed a legal challenge against the use of pepper spray on children held in young offender institutions (YOIs) in England, ruling the government's authorisation of the weapon lawful.
Legal Challenge Overruled on Safeguards
The Howard League for Penal Reform brought the case against the Labour government's decision to authorise Pava, a synthetic pepper spray, in three prisons holding boys from the age of 15. The charity argued that significant risks, including the physical and psychological harm from Pava, its likely disproportionate use against disabled children and Black and minority ethnic prisoners, and its potential to increase overall violence, had not been properly considered.
However, in a judgment delivered on Monday, Mr Justice Calver found that the then Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, had been "closely involved" in forming the policy and was "insistent" on thorough safeguards. The judgment stated the secretary of state intended its use only as a "last resort" where there was an immediate threat of life-changing or life-ending violence, with constant monitoring expected to make its use "extremely rare".
Rollout Followed Calls to Protect Staff
Mahmood authorised the rollout across YOIs in England and Wales in April, responding to growing demands from the Prison Officers' Association (POA) to better protect staff from violent attacks. The decision was met with criticism from several official bodies, including the Youth Justice Board, the Children's Commissioner for England, and the British Association of Social Workers. HM Inspectorate of Prisons also expressed "serious concerns" about the move.
Pava spray causes intense pain and discomfort in the eyes for around 40 minutes, along with a burning sensation on the skin. Its use was extended to men's prisons in England and Wales in 2018, after which concerns were raised about disproportionate use against disabled people and those from minority ethnic backgrounds.
A government "use of force" evaluation report from April found Black prisoners were nearly twice as likely as white prisoners to experience Pava and baton use. The data, up to March 2023, showed 409 in every 1,000 Black inmates were subjected to use of force, compared to 208.6 per 1,000 white prisoners.
Rising Violence and Divided Reaction
The context for the rollout is a sharp rise in serious assaults. In the 12 months to March 2025, YOIs recorded an average serious assault rate of 35.8 incidents per 100 children and young people per year. This marks a 58% increase on the previous year's rate of 22.6.
Andrea Coomber, chief executive of the Howard League, expressed disappointment at the ruling but noted the legal opposition had forced the government to implement additional safeguards, preventing a full rollout to all officers as first proposed. "We continue to have serious reservations as to how effective any safeguards or purported mitigations can ever be," she stated.
In contrast, Mark Fairhurst, national chair of the POA, welcomed the judgment. "The people who wish to remove any form of protection from staff who deal with the most violent cohort of convicts... should hang their heads in shame," he said, arguing that "age is no excuse for violent behaviour" that risks life-changing injury.
