Howard League launches legal challenge against introduction of PAVA to prisons holding children 

The Howard League for Penal Reform has sent a letter before claim to the Secretary of State for Justice, challenging as unlawful her decision to make PAVA spray available for use in prisons holding children.  

The letter, from lawyers acting for the Howard League, asks the Secretary of State to withdraw her decision. The Secretary of State has 14 days to respond.  

PAVA is a chemical irritant spray that can cause severe pain. It is classified as a prohibited weapon under the Firearms Act 1968.  

The government’s decision to authorise its use in young offender institutions, announced in April, represents a serious escalation in the use of force that is permitted against children.

Andrea Coomber KC (Hon.), Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “The Howard League has been preparing to take whatever steps necessary to challenge the roll-out of PAVA spray to prisons holding children, including potential legal action. This letter takes us further down that route, but we hope that the government will respond positively.

“We know that PAVA spray has been used inappropriately in prisons holding adults; to use it on children would be catastrophic. Far from keeping children and staff safe, normalising the use of violence in this way risks making conditions even worse for those living and working in prison.

“Instead of arming staff, the way to reduce violence is to close failing young offender institutions and ensure that children are accommodated in more appropriate settings – such as secure children’s homes – where they can be given the care and support they need. Prison is no place for a child.” 

When PAVA spray was piloted in prisons holding adults, the evaluation findings indicated that it did nothing to reduce violence and in fact had a detrimental effect on relationships between staff and the people living there. This would be particularly damaging in prisons holding children, where positive relationships are essential to ensure that children are safeguarded and supported. 

The Howard League’s concerns on the use of PAVA include the lack of research into its use in custody specifically and against children in particular, whether in the community or in custody. What little research exists in relation to adults shows a myriad of potential physiological health impacts, including on the respiratory tract, eyes, skin and cardiovascular system. The psychological harm caused by deliberately inflicting pain on children by means of PAVA, particularly when the children held in prison are known to be highly vulnerable and more likely to have experienced trauma, can be expected to be severe.  

Prior to this rollout of PAVA, there were already widespread concerns about the use of existing pain-inducing techniques and calls for a prohibition on their use. Data obtained by the Howard League through a Freedom of Information Act request found that 65% of incidents of force involving pain-inducing techniques between April 2023 and March 2024 were deemed ‘outside of policy’ by the Independent Restraint Review Panel (IRRP). Moreover, unlike other techniques that intentionally inflict pain, PAVA cannot be calibrated to inflict the minimum level of pain, or disapplied once risk is negated, and others in the vicinity, such as other children or staff, can be inadvertently affected by it. 

The decision to allow PAVA to be used in children’s prisons is of particular concern given longstanding concerns that force is used at a disproportionately high level against black and ethnic minority children. The number of children from racialised minorities in prison is disproportionately high, and there are already concerns about the high levels of force used against them by staff. Official statistics for the deployment of PAVA spray in adult prisons indicate that a Black person is significantly more likely to be sprayed than a White person.  

The Howard League is also concerned that the use of PAVA spray is likely to disproportionately affect children with mental and/or physical health concerns, speech, language and communication needs, learning difficulties and/or disabilities, and neurodivergence. There is significant overrepresentation of children presenting with these disabilities in custody. 

Notes to editors 

1. The Howard League for Penal Reform is the oldest penal reform charity in the world. It is a national charity working for less crime, safer communities and fewer people in prison. 
2. More information about PAVA and its use against children can be found on the Howard League website at: https://howardleague.org/pava-spray-q-a/ and: https://howardleague.org/news/howard-league-responds-to-use-of-pava-against-children-in-prison/   
3. The Howard League have launched a campaign on CrowdJustice to challenge this decision and protect children from harm. Find it here: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/stop-the-use-of-pava-spray-on-children/   
4. The Howard League has signed a statement published by the Alliance for Youth Justice (AYJ) and supported by many other organisations working to represent the views of, or deliver services to, children. The statement sets out the significant risks this measure poses to children’s safety and wellbeing: https://www.ayj.org.uk/news-content/pava-joint-statement
   
5. The Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine (FFLM) has prepared medico-legal guidelines which summarises the current understanding of the medical implications of irritant sprays. Find it here: https://fflm.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Irritant-sprays-clinical-effects-and-management-Prof-J-Payne-James-December-2024.pdf  
6. The Howard League is represented by Adam Straw KC and Shu Shin Luh of Doughty Street Chambers, instructed by Michael Oswald of Bhatt Murphy LLP

Contact 

Noor Khan
Press and Public Affairs Officer
Tel: +44 (0)20 7241 7873
Email: [email protected]