Is pepper spray legal in the UK? The law, self-defence and the legal alternatives

Is pepper spray legal in the UK? No, and nor is CS spray

In England, Wales and Scotland the law is section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968. A person commits an offence if, “without authority”, they have in their possession, or purchase or acquire, any of the weapons the section lists, and section 5(1)(b) lists “any weapon of whatever description designed or adapted for the discharge of any noxious liquid, gas or other thing”. The Home Office’s guide to firearms law for the police says this covers not only flamethrowers and poison gas projectors “but also personal protection sprays using CS, Mace or OC pepper”. OC (oleoresin capsicum) is the pepper in pepper spray.

Three things follow. It doesn’t matter that a spray is small or sold for self-defence: the law covers a weapon “of whatever description”. The offence is possessing, buying or acquiring one, so keeping a spray at home is an offence too, not only carrying it. And the Act makes no exception for self-defence. The same Home Office guide notes that the courts have held stun guns to be prohibited under the same paragraph.

Northern Ireland has its own law with the same effect. Article 45(1)(f) of the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 prohibits “any weapon of whatever description designed or adapted for the discharge of electricity or any noxious liquid, gas or other thing”, without the authority of the Secretary of State.

The sentence is serious. Possessing a prohibited weapon designed to discharge a noxious liquid can be tried in a lower court or on indictment. In England and Wales a magistrates’ court can impose up to 12 months in prison, a fine or both; in Scotland a sheriff court can impose up to 6 months. On indictment the maximum is 10 years, a fine or both (Schedule 6 to the 1968 Act; section 282 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003). In Northern Ireland the maximum is 1 year on summary conviction and 10 years on indictment (Schedule 5 to the 2004 Order). Buying one online or abroad changes nothing about the offence here, and the national Ask the Police service warns that products bought from abroad have “a greater chance of being illegal”.

Self-defence and ‘reasonable force’: what the law says

You are allowed to defend yourself. GOV.UK says you can use reasonable force to protect yourself or others when a crime is happening in your home, that you can do so in the heat of the moment, and that there is no fixed definition of reasonable force because it depends on the circumstances. The joint CPS and police statement for householders adds that if you are in your own home and in fear for yourself or others, you don’t have to wait to be attacked.

The rules are set out in section 76 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, which applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Whether the force was reasonable is decided “by reference to the circumstances as D believed them to be”, so a genuine but mistaken belief can count, unless the mistake came from drink or drugs taken voluntarily. In most cases, force is not reasonable if it was “disproportionate” in those circumstances. In England and Wales only, a ‘householder case’ (broadly, defending yourself in your home against someone you believe is an intruder) uses a different line: force that was “grossly disproportionate”. Also in England and Wales, the chance to retreat is “a factor to be taken into account, rather than as giving rise to a duty to retreat”.

The law also accepts that people under threat can’t measure their response precisely. Section 76 says a person “may not be able to weigh to a nicety the exact measure of any necessary action”, and that having done only what you “honestly and instinctively thought was necessary” is “strong evidence” that the action was reasonable. Section 76 does not extend to Scotland, so the tests there differ.

What reasonable force does not cover is going out prepared to use a weapon. That is the next point.

Why carrying anything as a weapon in public is an offence

Section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 (England and Wales) makes it an offence to have “any offensive weapon” with you in a public place “without lawful authority or reasonable excuse”, and puts the burden of proving the excuse on you. An offensive weapon means any article “made or adapted for use for causing injury to the person”, or one “intended by the person having it with him for such use”. The maximum sentence on indictment is 4 years. Scotland’s version is section 47 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995, with a maximum of 5 years, and Northern Ireland’s is Article 22 of the Public Order (Northern Ireland) Order 1987, worded the same way.

The second half of that definition is the one that catches people out. An everyday item, such as keys, a can of hairspray or a torch, is not a weapon in itself, but carrying it intending to use it to hurt someone can turn it into an offensive weapon in law. Carrying something for self-defence ‘just in case’ is not a reasonable excuse either: the Crown Prosecution Service’s guidance on knife and weapons offences says that carrying an offensive weapon in public “merely because of the possibility of a constant or enduring threat (even where genuine) does not amount to self-defence or a reasonable excuse”. Only exceptionally, when an imminent and specific attack is expected, might it be reasonable.

This is separate from the self-defence rules above. Using whatever is to hand in the moment you are attacked is judged by the reasonable-force test. Setting out with something to use as a weapon is an offence in itself. Blades have their own rules, which our guide to knives and the law covers.

Personal safety alarms: the legal option police point to

The national Ask the Police service, answering the question “Are there any legal self-defence products that I can buy?”, says the only fully legal self-defence product at the moment is a personal attack alarm (it calls it a “rape alarm”), adding that they are not expensive. Avon and Somerset Police say an alarm is “designed to shock and distract an attacker, giving you vital seconds to get away”.

How you use one matters more than which one you buy. The Suzy Lamplugh Trust’s advice is to set the alarm off “holding it as close to the attackers face as possible”, then drop it and get away, shouting a clear instruction such as calling for the police; “don’t wait to check that your alarm has had the desired effect; just go.” It adds that an alarm “should be just one part of your personal safety plan”.

Our own suggestion: keep it where you can reach it in a second, such as a coat pocket, rather than at the bottom of a bag, and check the battery as the maker’s instructions say. Remember what a siren alarm can’t do: it makes noise, and it calls nobody. For an older relative who lives alone, the useful device is usually one that calls someone when pressed; our personal and careline alarms comparison covers both kinds, from siren alarms to SOS pendants.

Criminal identifier and marker sprays: the legal status is unclear

Some sprays are sold as legal alternatives: they squirt a coloured dye or foam meant to mark an attacker rather than hurt them. We could not find any police or official source confirming that they are lawful, and the national Ask the Police service says plainly that it can’t: products that claim to be legal, “e.g. non toxic sprays”, cannot be confirmed as legal or endorsed “until a test case is brought before the court”.

The same answer says that if you are stopped with one “there is always a possibility that you will be arrested and detained until the product, its contents and legality can be verified”. It describes products that squirt a relatively safe, brightly coloured dye, and says a properly designed one used as intended should not cause an injury, but if an injury does occur “this may be assault”. And it repeats the rule above: you must not have a product “made or adapted to cause a person injury”.

So our honest position is that we can’t tell you a marker spray is legal, because no official source does. An alarm does the same job of drawing attention, with no question mark over it.

Your phone: Emergency SOS, what3words and the silent 999 call

Most phones have an emergency shortcut, and setting it up takes a minute. On an iPhone, Apple says you can press and hold the side button and either volume button until the sliders appear and the countdown ends, or turn on ‘Call with 5 Presses’ in Settings > Emergency SOS and press the side button five times quickly. After the call, the iPhone texts your emergency contacts with your location unless you cancel. On Android 12 and later, Google says pressing the power button five times or more starts Emergency SOS, which can call for help, share your location with your emergency contacts and record video; it has to be set up first, and Google says it doesn’t work in aeroplane mode or with Battery Saver on. Add your emergency contacts before you need them.

If you can’t say where you are, what3words can help. The national Ask the Police service explains that it gives a three-word address to every 3-metre grid square on a map, that the free app works offline, and that you read your three words to the 999 call handler so help can come to the exact spot.

If you call 999 and can’t speak, the Independent Office for Police Conduct’s advice is: listen to the operator, cough or tap your phone if you can, and if prompted press 55 to show it’s a genuine emergency and be put through to the police. Staying silent and not pressing 55 will lead to the call being ended.

Ask for Angela, StreetSafe and getting home safely

Ask for Angela is a phrase you can use with staff to get discreet help without having to explain. The scheme started in Lincolnshire in 2016; it began in licensed venues such as pubs and bars and has spread to places such as fire stations, places of education and public transport. Staff take their lead from you, and can help you leave or stay safely, find your friends, or contact the emergency services. Look for its posters.

StreetSafe, on the police.uk website, lets you tell the police anonymously about public places where you have felt unsafe, for example because of anti-social behaviour or a lack of street lighting. The reports inform policing and local authority safety work. It is not for reporting crimes: report those to the police, and if you are in immediate danger, call 999.

For the walk home, the simplest ‘walk-me-home’ service is already on your phone. Police advice includes sharing your live location with a trusted friend or family member before you go out, and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust suggests a tracking app a trusted friend can follow. Plan how you will get home before you go, including the last train or bus, and check whether your university, workplace or venue runs a walk-home or safe-taxi scheme.

Personal safety tips for women, older people and everyone else

The everyday advice from the police and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust is the same for everyone. Tell someone where you are going and for how long. Keep your phone charged and on you. Use well-lit, busy streets and routes you know, and stay in a group where you can. If you think you are being followed, trust your instincts: cross the road, check who is behind you, and head somewhere busy, such as a shop. Report incidents, even near misses.

If someone tries to take your bag or phone, Avon and Somerset Police advise you to “consider letting them have it rather than risk getting hurt”. If you are attacked, they say, shout for help as loudly as you can or shout for someone to contact the police, try to get to a safe place and call the police.

For older people the same basics apply, with one more: a way to call for help at home that doesn’t depend on reaching the phone. Our personal and careline alarms comparison explains what each kind of alarm does and who answers when the button is pressed.