Acid attacks are on the rise in Britain

[zenkai]

Source

LONDON — Twenty people at a packed nightclub here suffered chemical burns from an acid-like substance thrown at them on April 17, an attack that authorities say reflects a frightening trend.

Toxic substances such as drain cleaner are being used as weapons more frequently, apparently as a result of a crackdown on guns and knives in recent years.

Metropolitan Police figures from March show attacks involving corrosive fluids in London jumped 74% from 261 in 2015 to 454 in 2016. Across Britain, such attacks increased 30% between 2012 and 2015, according to the London Times.

The assault at the Mangle nightclub in east London left two people blind in one eye from what police called a "corrosive fluid." The former boyfriend of a British reality TV star has been detained, along with an another man, in connection with the incident. Witnesses said the attack followed a fight in the club.

On April 21, police in Manchester in northern England, said a pregnant woman and a man suffered "severe discomfort" when someone threw bleach in their eyes from a passing car.

"It’s a growing problem, there’s no question," said Jaf Shah, executive director of Acid Survivors Trust International, a London charity that supports victims, predominantly in South Asia, where acid attacks are more common.

Shah said acid attacks in other countries usually involve men targeting females. The reasons are often over spurned marriage proposals or sexual advances. In Britain, young men are mainly targeting other young men in violence that is often gang-related. British law is not specific about banning acid as a weapon, so gang members may use it to avoid prosecution, he said.

Even so, acid attackers are often convicted of assault or a more serious charge of grievous bodily harm, which carries a maximum life sentence. Since 2015, the government has required vendors to report suspicious transactions involving sulfuric acid to police because it can be used to manufacture explosives.

“(Corrosive substances) are extremely easy to get hold of (in Britain). You can buy them from hardware stores and don't have to register why you're purchasing it or what you want to use it for,” said Simon Harding, a professor of criminology at London's Middlesex University.

“If you throw (acid) in someone’s face it’s going to affect their eyes and eyesight so you have a high chance of getting away with it. It’s a very easy thing to do. You can ride up to someone on a bike and throw it at them."

By contrast, guns are very hard to get in Britain, unlike in the United States. As a result, their are only 50 to 60 gun homicides in England and Wales each year, a rate of about one for every 1 million people, according to the Geneva Declaration of Armed Violence and Development, a multinational organization. In the U.S., about 30 per 1 million people are killed in gun homicides. The Gun Violence Archive, a database of gun-related violence in the U.S., says 13,286 people were killed and 26,819 injured by firearms in the U.S. in 2015.

Victims of acid attacks say they must deal with life-long repercussions. Australians Prue Fraser, 20, and her sister, Isobella, 22, were among those sprayed at the Mangle club.

“I ended up in the middle of this fight and I was thrown over the barrier near the bar with all my stuff," Prue Fraser told the London Evening Standard. “Getting up I could feel my arm was burning. It was like boiling water had been poured over me but like I was cut as well. I have never experienced anything like it, it was excruciating. We saw six other girls who had it in their eyes, faces and chest areas they were screaming and crying."

Isobella Fraser said she sustained third-degree burns on her arms and back.

Well I guess instead of getting shot you get acid thrown on you and then you're disfigured the rest of your life, how nice...

[Deleted]

You could become rich if you sold safety goggles to party goers.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Yikes, there should be a harsh punishment for that.

[Gimlix]

Yikes, there should be a harsh punishment for that.

Death should be the punishment for that..

[Rend Blackhand]

The majority of these acid attacks are carried out by a protected community in Britain.

[Gimlix]

The majority of these acid attacks are carried out by a protected community in Britain.

Other words...?

[Edge-]

The majority of these acid attacks are carried out by a protected community in Britain.

What is this "protected community"? Do you have data that supports this?

Not necessarily disagreeing, just curious.

[Kalis]

Our legislation will at some point catch up with the latest fad in crimes, so expect harsher penalties and some form of purchasing restrictions.

If as expected the Tories get a majority, we may see something within the next five years, depending on if the media and/or police make a fuss of it.

[Deleted]

The majority of these acid attacks are carried out by a protected community in Britain.

Hush now lest you attract the attention of a certain mod.

[Miyagie]

Close it now ? wont end well.

[Darkeon]

Sometimes, even more cruel than straight out killing someone, in my opinion.

It's a shame.

[Puupi]

Over one acid attack every day in London alone? What the fuck?

[Miyagie]

Over one acid attack every day in London alone? What the fuck?

In Berlin is atm someone on the bike on acid tour and spray at random women.

[Deleted]

Over one acid attack every day in London alone? What the fuck?

99% of it is probably gang related, the only way to reduce these acid attacks would be to crack down on gang crime harder somehow.

[Deleted]

Over one acid attack every day in London alone? What the fuck?

London has a larger population than many countries, including your own.

[Kalis]

I mean what are you going to do, start a bleach registry?

You get asked for ID when buying cutlery, so do not rule anything out. We have some odd laws.

- - - Updated - - -

99% of it is probably gang related, the only way to reduce these acid attacks would be to crack down on gang crime harder somehow.

It is both gang and "honour" related, majority seems to be gang related but not that high of a percentage.

[Deleted]

I mean, I wouldn't throw a fit about that if it were a thing here because it's such a non-impediment, but it's such a non-impediment that it doesn't seem to have any real potential to help. Or are you saying that they'd be going precisely for a security blanket effect rather than a real attempt at a solution?

What solution? Ban gangs and religion?

[Dhrizzle]

The majority of these acid attacks are carried out by a protected community in Britain.

Young men?

[Scyclone]

Man.... Just saw 3 messed up London posts in the span of a few hours.

Makes me grow even more concerned with the fact I am visiting the UK in about half a year...

[Puupi]

London has a larger population than many countries, including your own.

London is quite comparable to Finland population wise.

There are more than one attack every day in London.

There has never been an acid attack in Finland. Tried researching if I could find anything about it. Found one news story about police investigating a possible first acid attack ever in Finland, but it was a false flag apparently.

Quite a difference. Population size is irrelevant here.