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<p>The below table is the total number of use of force incidents from April 2019 to
March 2020. This data is collated from management information and due to how the data
is validated it may not tally with official statistics.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Period</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr
2019</p></td><td><p>5415</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May 2019</p></td><td><p>5746</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jun
2019</p></td><td><p>5489</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jul 2019</p></td><td><p>5422</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Aug
2019</p></td><td><p>5264</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sep 2019</p></td><td><p>5172</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Oct
2019</p></td><td><p>5888</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Nov 2019</p></td><td><p>5202</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Dec
2019</p></td><td><p>4858</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jan 2020</p></td><td><p>5591</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Feb
2020</p></td><td><p>5487</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mar 2020</p></td><td><p>5577</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p>We have been introducing PAVA to the adult male estate to help protect staff
and prisoners from incidents where there is serious violence, or an imminent or perceived
risk of serious violence.</p><p>Since the roll out of PAVA began in April 2019, it
has been used on 81 prisoners. It has been drawn (but not used) on 36 individuals,
totalling 117 prisoners.</p><p>The table below shows the number of times PAVA has
been drawn or used, broken down by ethnicity. Revised guidance on PAVA guidance was
issued in April and the first prison outside the pilot began using PAVA in August.
Therefore, data between April and July will only reflect usage at the pilot sites
(HMPs Risley, Hull, Preston and Wealstun)</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Ethnicity</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Deployed</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Drawn</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Asian/Asian
British</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Black/Black
British</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>7</p></td><td><p>17</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mixed</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>White</p></td><td><p>52</p></td><td><p>24</p></td><td><p>76</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Not
recorded</p></td><td><p>11</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total</p></td><td><p>81</p></td><td><p>36</p></td><td><p>117</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p>The ‘not recorded’ category includes those prisoners who do not disclose their
ethnicity on reception into custody.</p><p>Prisoners from BAME backgrounds made up
27% of all prisoners. In March 2019, prisoners who declared themselves in the White
ethnic group made up almost three quarters (59,911 or 73%) of the prison population
in England and Wales. Prisoners who declared their ethnicity as Black, Asian or Minority
Ethnic (BAME) represented 22,227 (or 27%) of all prisoners.</p><p>PAVA is just one
of many tools we give to prison officers to help them do their job more safely, alongside
body worn video cameras training, and rigid bar handcuffs. Above all, we know that
one of the most effective tools in managing people safely is the interpersonal skills
of our staff.</p><p>HMPPS is committed and duty bound to eliminate unlawful discrimination,
harassment and victimisation, advance equality of opportunity between people who share
a protected characteristic and those who do not and to foster good relations between
people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.</p><p>In response
to the Lammy Review, we are updating the training we give to officers to raise awareness
among all staff of how biases can affect decision making, and strategies to combat
these.</p><p>PAVA, as with any use of force, must always only be used if necessary
and proportionate to the seriousness of the circumstances. The application of physical
techniques, or the use of PAVA, is to be used only when other methods not involving
force have been repeatedly tried and failed, or are judged unlikely to succeed, and
action needs to be taken to prevent serious injury or harm to prisoners or staff.</p><p>Quality
assurance and scrutiny of incidents is vital to ensuring that force is used legally
and appropriately. Governors will be expected to ensure that scrutiny takes place
after any drawing and/or use of PAVA. We have developed a toolkit of resources to
assist prisons in maintaining effective scrutiny.</p>
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