Petition to legalise pepper spray.

A heat spray like deep heat etc., can be just as effective.

GrannyGravy13

A heat spray like deep heat etc., can be just as effective.

Would that be legal?

Would it be controlled who can buy it? Otherwise no I won’t sign
Think of the horrors if young thugs or men on the prowl could use this on their victims .
No thank you.

You would be allowed to have deep heat in your bag, for therapeutic purposes.

fancythat

GrannyGravy13

A heat spray like deep heat etc., can be just as effective.

Would that be legal?

It is not illegal to carry a heat spray, it is illegal to use it to attack someone.

I imagine there is a fine line between attack and self defence.

A cheap and nasty perfume spray also does the job and can’t really be unexpected in a woman’s bag…

It’s a good idea but, as someone said, it might mean thugs might use it.
What I’d really like to see are police on the beat wherever I go as well as uniformed security officers on trains especially at night.

What use would it be against a frenzied knife attack in a confined space unless the attacker could be physically restrained? He’d just keep lashing out at random as is sounds he did anyway. And you'd need to be up close to spray someone. If you missed you could temporarily blind someone else and hamper their ability to flee to safety.

paddyann54

Would it be controlled who can buy it? Otherwise no I won’t sign
Think of the horrors if young thugs or men on the prowl could use this on their victims .
No thank you.

My first thought - yobs would love pepper spray to be legalised!

Pantglas2

A cheap and nasty perfume spray also does the job and can’t really be unexpected in a woman’s bag…

Same as hair spray 😂

paddyann54

Would it be controlled who can buy it? Otherwise no I won’t sign
Think of the horrors if young thugs or men on the prowl could use this on their victims .
No thank you.

Good point paddyann54.

Also, as PaynesGrey points out (above), in such an attack - it might be of little use.

It's a bit of a knee-jerk response to a complex problem. Apart from the motive of the attacker - which I am not going to speculate (publicly) on - public spending cuts over the years have left our police forces, judiciary, and prison services woefully under-staffed.

In late 2023, the BTP was instructed to make £5 million in savings, which could only be achieved through a recruitment freeze, leaving them short by 274 staff members. (source: Google AI)

Of course, we can't expect BTP to be in every carriage or on every train journey, or indeed police officers to be on every street corner, but generally speaking, surely a more intense police presence on both the streets and public transport, might act as a deterrent to those anti-social yobs who plague both and who probably instinctively know they are unlikely to be apprehended?

With random attacks (historical), it has been the case that the perpetrator is discovered to have had serious mental health problems, and that is another area where the services are severely underfunded.

Perhaps a pepper-spray might be useful if you are walking home late at night along a quiet street, but what if the attacker managed to wrestle it from you?

I dunno what the answer is, but I'm not signing because of the reasons given by others, and because it's a 'sticking-plaster' solution...

I think I would support people being allowed pepper spray for protection. I’m pretty sure it would stop an attacker in their tracks. It is very sore on the eyes.
I also would vote in favour of small retailers who often work on their own being given tazers, on licence, to deter shoplifters.

If it would be legalised then I dread how many innocent people could be harmed . Teenagers would get hold of it and use it just for fun. Unstable adults would go round spraying people in the face . People could be blinded or have damage to their eyes.

Pepper spray wouldn't stop a determined attacker especially in a confined space .

I remember when I lived in the black country the man who was in a department store in Birmingham on the escalator attacking people with a life going in the opposite direction. The knife attack at the nursery in Wolverhampton area. Plus countless other knife attacks in parts of the country.

If someone is determined to kill and maime people using knife ,hammer etc pepper spray wouldn't stop them it will just make them lash out more . As they will not just be in pain but enraged .

And to be honest how many people faced with an attacker would be able to get a spray of any sort out of their bag or pocket. I know I could do it quick enough. I do walk using a stick which has a heavy handle . And hopefully if I got attacked I would use it protect myself even though I would probably fall over .

But none of us knows how we would react if we got attacked until it happened. The flee or fight reflex would kick in but which one ?

Honestly I read what I wrote and missed out knife but put life . And could instead of couldn't 🤦🤦

Not meaning to trivialise the thread, but in the latest ‘Strike’ book, Robin made her own pepper spray and used it to defend herself.

She knew full well it was not legal, but it served the purpose.

I m not too much in favour of this I do think it’s a knee jerk reaction and can imagine in a situation like the latest one everyone reaching for their pepper spray and everyone getting an eyeful

BlueBelle

I m not too much in favour of this I do think it’s a knee jerk reaction and can imagine in a situation like the latest one everyone reaching for their pepper spray and everyone getting an eyeful

Agree!

TBH I’d be a bit worried about it being used for attack, rather than defence.

We could carry the mini hairspray in a pocket, but even getting that out and the top off it and being able to spray it is unlikely in a one on one sudden attack.
If it helped to make a woman feel more confident then keeping it in a handy pocket with its top removed may be an idea, but it could be hairspray or deep heat or perfume.

Even for police who carry a version of 'pepper spray' its use comes under the Firearms Act and any use has to be registered and justified. Police carry the canister on their utility belt where release of the restraining tab automatically springs it into an easily accessible position. Totally different to someone under attack scrabbling through pockets or bags. I'd regard its legalising to be too open to abuse to be available to the public.

So how does one defend oneself?

I think I am afraid it is a bit of a myth, particularly for women, that there is a magic solution that provides protection, there isn't.

Regarding cheap & nasty perfume sprays I have one in my
bum-bag (essence of pong ) when walking my old dog in order to fend- off any random dogs that may attack him.
This following -on from a unprovoked attack by a Bull-terrier type in the park! Regarding a human attack; my DH has shown me a few moves but I'd probably end-up just screaming & running, which is my pathetic default mode, alas!

If the Police can’t control the carrying of knives they certainly won’t be stopping and searching for pepper spray.

I carry Deep Heat.