Pepper spray to be given to prison officers across Teesside
Its part of a national £2 million roll out to make prison officers feel safer
Last updated 9th Oct 2018
A synthetic pepper spray will be given to prison officers to give them greater confidence dealing with dangerous situations.
It's after a successful 6 month trial, as the spray; PAVA will be rolled out in all men's prisons in the country next year
Officers at Stockton's Holme House, as well as Frankland and Durham prisons will be able to use it to de-escalate potentially violent situations.
MP for Stockton South, Alex Cunningham says its not a magic fix-all solution.
"Its always important that prison officers are properly equipped to do their job.
"Giving them pepper spray is a very small step in trying to protect them.
"What we should be doing is trying to replace the thousands of prison officers that we have lost from the service."
The £2 million programme is being rolled out nationally after a 6 month trial in four prisons, HMP Hull, Preston, Risley and Wealstun.
Helen Atwell, who's CEO of North East prison charity Nepacs says it might not have the intended effects:
"I'm not sure if pepper spray in itself will have the positive effect.
"It could yet build more of a sense of us and them between prisoners and prison officers when actually the prison community should be about the whole of that community working together to best effect.
"I think the real skill of our prison officers is they are able to build relationships and trust with inmates and prempt problems and conflict and stop the conflict from happening in the first place."
The justice department say PAVA can help to prevent serious harm to staff and prisoners alike, as well as being a tool to persuade prisoners in the act of violence to stop.
But that it will only be used in limited circumstances.
This is the latest of a number of measures taken by government to protect prison officers, which include doubling the maximum sentence for those who assault them as well as rolling out body worn cameras, ‘police-style’ handcuffs and restraints. Meanwhile more than 3,500 additional officers have been recruited since October 2016.
It comes amid a wider drive to bring stability to prisons, with a £40 million investment announced over the summer to improve the prison estate and tackle the problems that drive much of the violence, including drugs and mobile phones.
This funding will allow the introduction of more airport-style body scanners, phone-blocking technology and drug-detecting dogs
Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said:
“Prison officers’ ability to keep control of prisons, and the chaotic individuals within them, is vital to ensuring everyone’s safety.
“Violent individuals are as much of a danger to other prisoners as they are to prison officers. Most prisoners want to keep out of trouble and see the prison authorities given the means to keep control, so that they can focus on rehabilitation.
“Safer prisons means dealing effectively with a dangerous minority, while allowing more offenders into education and work and reducing the likelihood of them reoffending.”