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Press releasesREF: PR/35/07 DATE: 19th June 2007 To: ALL POLITICAL PRESS RELEASE Gas Used to Remove Young Prisoners from RooftopA rooftop demonstration at Huntercombe Young Offenders Institution was dramatically brought to an end on Friday 15th June 2007; by the use of a chemical incapacitate known as PAVA, the first time its use has been authorised on under 18’s. The Prison Service have only authorised the use of the chemical incapacitate PAVA on a handful of occasions, one of those being on the most dangerous prisoner in the System Charles Bronson during an incident at Wakefield High Security Prison. Three armed young prisoners climbed up onto the roof and refused to come down following local negotiations. The Prison Service deployed Specialist staff from the National C&R centre to resolve the situation. The use of force including PAVA was authorised to resolve the situation and remove the young prisoners from the roof. Steve Cox, National Vice Chairman of the POA said, “This is a demonstration of Prison Service hypocrisy; The Director General Phil Wheatley refuses to allow staff to carry extendable batons within Juvenile establishments, leaving our members vulnerable to attacks from makeshift weapons and young prisoners. We are advised that the policy is due to the fact that the prisoners in our care are only children. However, when the prison regime or prison places are at risk the Director General thinks nothing of authorising the use of chemicals on children. Not only is the use of PAVA extremely rare and only used in most dangerous situations, using it during a rooftop demonstration is pure madness, someone could have fallen to their death.” Brian Caton, General Secretary said, “We believe the decision to use PAVA was political due to the current prison population pressures. And as such the Director General authorised what we can only describe as excessive force on Juvenile Prisoners to protect the prison places at Huntercombe. I hope he can live with the fact he is the first Director General of the Prison Service to gas children in his care comparing these children to the most dangerous prisoner in the system. The prison service has faced many rooftop demonstrations and I have never known such extreme measures to be taken in all my service.”
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