Ohio youth prison guards to use pepper spray after violent events

After a rash of disturbances and assaults inside its youth prisons, the Ohio Department of Youth Services announced Friday that it'll outfit guards with body cameras and pepper spray.

Pepper spray is safer than physical restraint and will lead to fewer injuries to staff and juveniles, Amy Ast, youth services director, said in a letter to department staff.

She also predicted that it would lead to more compliance by juveniles, resulting in their release dates not being extended.

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"This will increase safety and increase the likelihood of youth being released on time," Ast said.

Ohio Public Defender Timothy Young, whose law office represents most of the incarcerated youth, said he has deep concerns about deploying pepper spray inside juvenile prisons.

"DYS is in the position of parenting the children in their custody. If any parent pepper sprayed their child, they would rightfully investigated and likely charged with child abuse," Young said. "Studies show children are at increased risk for neurological and respiratory damage from pepper spray."

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The department will also outfit officers with body cameras, starting with Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility in Stark County. Indian River has been the focal point of two disturbances and multiple staff assaults in recent weeks. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction's special response team is providing additional guards at Indian River for the time being.

The Ohio Department of Youth Services has been grappling with violent incidents, high job vacancy rates and other problems.

Across the system, guards report that they're required to work double shifts multiple times a week, leading to exhaustion and burnout.

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Ohio's youth prisons operate under different rules than the adult prisons. Confidentiality laws prohibit state officials from disclosing the identity of incarcerated juveniles and officers must follow a myriad of policies and laws, especially when it comes to using force. Some guards complain that they feel their hands are tied by the restrictive policies, leaving them with few options to manage violent teens.

The union that presents juvenile corrections officers has advocated that they be equipped with pepper spray.

Ast said in her staff letter than while pepper spray is a new tool, it won't replace current strategies backed up by research: mentorship, behavioral health interventions, and relationship building.