Petition

Legalise the use of pepper spray for all adult British citizens.

Rejected 16 signatures

What the petition asks

Currently, pepper spray is illegal for citizens, but self-defence sprays such as the 'colour-dye identifier' sprays are legal.

I would like Parliament to legalise the use of pepper spray so that citizens have more effective options to protect themselves in public.
Our safety has been lost to the huge rise of knife crime, the huge rise of sexual assaults, and the huge rise of pickpocketing. People are absolutely terrified, and one must wonder how differently certain incidents may have been if people could have properly defended themselves.
People need and deserve a stronger way to do this when faced with danger because it could be the only chance they have - there simply may not be time to contact the police. Colour-dye is something, but simply not enough.

Why it was rejected

There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.

You may wish to sign the following petition, which calls for similar action:

Legalise pepper spray in England: Legalise pepper spray in England

Timeline

2 Nov 2025 Petition opened for signatures
2 Dec 2025 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 16
Status Rejected
Rejected 2 Dec 2025

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 13 Aug 2026.