Crimes of Violence: Corrosive Substances

(asked on 28th June 2021) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of recording data on crimes involving (a) acid and (b) corrosive fluid.


Answered by
Kit Malthouse Portrait
Kit Malthouse
This question was answered on 5th July 2021

We have put in place an Annual Data Requirement on police forces to collect data on corrosive attacks. Data is published annually as part of the Office for National Statistics’ crime statistics. The latest data available which is for the year ending March 2020 showed that the police recorded 619 violence against the person and robbery offences involving corrosive substances (figures exclude offences for Greater Manchester Police). It is not possible to breakdown the offences between those which involved the use of acid and those which involved other corrosive substances. We expect that data for the year ending March 2021 will be published on 22 July.

The Government is working closely with the police to ensure that they are able to take effective action to tackle and prevent acid or corrosive attacks. We have also strengthened the law on corrosives through the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 with legislative measures specifically stopping the sale and delivery of acid and corrosive substances to under 18s and making it an offence to possess acid or a corrosive substance in public. We expect to commence these measures later this year.

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