Yet data provided to this review by Corrections suggests that rather than replacing physical force, pepper spray was used alongside other forms of restraint. In 2019 Pepper Spray was drawn, and discharged, 118 times, a small increase on the previous year (112). There was a very large disparity in the use of pepper spray across the prison estate, with Christchurch Men’s and Auckland Women’s prisons leading the way with 29 and 21 uses respectively. An examination of data pertaining to the use of pepper spray across the prison estate demonstrated some instances of spray being drawn, but not used, thus used as a deterrent. It was not always clear, however, why it was deemed necessary to use such an extreme measure in the first place. On one occasion, for example, pepper spray was used against a prisoner who ‘when told to settle down, became abusive and advanced towards staff’. In another, a prisoner who ‘picked a book and threatened to throw it at staff’, was pepper sprayed and, when they ‘came at staff in an aggressive manner’, was pepper-sprayed again. Many of the recorded uses of pepper spray involved stopping fights between prisoners. Again, it is impossible to ascertain whether pepper spray was used as last resort in these instances but use of force footage indicated that this may not have always been the case. There was some suggestion from both staff and prisoners that pepper spray was now used instead of negotiation and deescalation of volatile situations. As one person we spoke to, a prisoner, observed: “Before pepper-spray they used to de-escalate, calm things down …. Now you get pushed to a corner and you don’t know what to do” It should be noted that as well as being an unpleasant and potentially damaging to health for the person involved, the closed environment of prisons means that when one cell is being pepper sprayed, other cells are affected too. Prisoners have described having to resort to putting their head down the toilet in order to get fresh air when a neighbouring cell was gassed. One person said: “Your main thing is to try and breathe …. You start spewing, pleading with them [staff] to decontaminate us”. As well as examining national data on the use of force, we reviewed Use of Force (UoF) paperwork and incident footage in the prisons visited. It should be noted that although On Body Cameras are now mandatory in all prisons, the availability and quality of footage was variable. In a number of cases cameras were not turned on until after the event, if at all, and in others the view was obstructed. In other 4. Section 83(1) of the Corrections Act stipulates that: No officer or staff member may use physical force in dealing with any prisoner unless the officer or staff member has reasonable grounds for believing that the use of physical force is reasonably necessary – (a) in self-defence, in the defence of another person, or to protect the prisoner from injury; or (b) in the case of an escape or attempted escape (including the recapture of any person who is fleeing after escape); or (c) in the case of an officer, – (i) to prevent the prisoner from damaging any property; or (ii) in the case of active or passive resistance to a lawful order. 24