BOP Program Statement 5576.04: Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) Aerosol Spray
This policy stems from the Eric Williams Correctional Officer Protection Act of 2015. The policy amends United States Code Title 18 and approves the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to issue Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) spray to officers of the BOP. The update is consistent with the Department of Justice’s Policy Statement on the Use of Less-Than-Lethal Devices. OC spray is only supposed to be used “when reasonable force, based on the totality of the circumstances at the time of the incident, is necessary to protect any person from physical harm.”
OC spray will not be routinely issued to correctional officers (CO’s) in minimum or low security prisons. Instead, the spray will be issued in high security institutions, medium security institutions, and administrative facilities.
The OC spray has an effective range of 10-12 feet under ideal circumstances. OC is inflammatory, causing a burning sensation to the skin, tearing and closing of the eyes, and swelling of the mucous membranes.
DOJ CO’s “are prohibited from using less-than-lethal devices to punish, harass, or abuse any person.”
Concerns:
There is a concern that arming the CO’s with OC spray will jeopardize the safety of the CO’s because inmates will periodically overwhelm the CO’s and obtain the OC spray. This will place the CO’s at risk.
Alternately, while there are many good CO’s in the BOP, there are some who are corrupt and will never follow all rules in program statements. Even though the CO’s are prohibited from using the OC spray to punish or abuse inmates, there is concern that the spray will ultimately be used in this manner.
