Acid attacks have been increasing since 2012 – it's time we took decisive action

Access should be restricted, and it's worth considering whether carrying acid without justification should become a crime

Police at the scene of a recent acid attack in East London (Sarah Cobbold)

Knife crime has for years been the primary concern of law enforcement agencies battling gang violence. The prevalence of knives in Britain’s cities, and the apparent willingness of young men to use them, has resulted in ever-increasing numbers of victims. However, after a series of five attacks involving the use of acid in London on Thursday, it is plain that street criminals have more in their armoury than just cold steel.

Thursday’s incidents, thought by police to have been linked, seem to have involved the use of acid as a deliberate disabler – thrown by men on a moped at victims they intended to rob. Such indiscriminate deployment of this desperately harmful substance is truly shocking. Quite aside from the immediate pain it causes, many of those who are on the receiving end of acid attacks experience life-changing injuries, often scarred for life in the most publicly visible way imaginable. The psychological damage is hard to quantify.

Assaults featuring the use of corrosive liquids are on the rise. In London alone, Met figures suggest there have been 838 such attacks since 2015. Figures obtained by the BBC from 37 other UK police forces show a near threefold increase since 2012-13. These statistics may, however, not show the full picture – gang-on-gang attacks are frequently not reported to the police.

Historically, acid has often been associated with grimly misnamed “honour crimes”, especially among communities whose origins lie in the Indian subcontinent, with women most likely to be victims. Today, at least in London, male victims of acid attacks outnumber women by two to one. Quite aside from its use in robberies, acid has become a way for gangs to leave a lasting mark on their rivals.

Plainly it is time to address the issue head on. That can be done in a variety of ways. Most obviously, access to the most dangerous substances should be restricted. Sellers of sulphuric acid are already obliged to alert police about suspicious sales – usually when the liquid is brought in large quantities. There is no overriding reason why tighter controls should not be placed on any purchases of this and similarly harmful materials. Calls are growing for sales to be made only to those with an authorised buyer’s licence.

The proposal by Stephen Timms MP to create a specific offence of carrying acid without justification is also worthy of serious consideration. Indeed, it seems abundantly clear that the current sentencing regime for those found guilty of assaults using acid is flawed. Too many of those convicted of attacks receive jail terms, which make a mockery of the metaphorical life sentence they have inflicted on their victims. Education about the damage acid inflicts is vital as well.

Other countries have already shown that reducing acid’s availability and increasing sanctions for those who misuse it can be effective. In Colombia, a wave of attacks against women led to a new law under which any person convicted of deploying a “chemical agent” to cause physical harm receives a minimum of 12 years behind bars. In cases where the victim is permanently disfigured, sentences can rise to 50 years. Bangladesh has also had success in tackling the acid scourge by restricting sales and establishing special courts to deal with cases.

There is something particularly horrific about acid attacks, which perhaps helps to explain why recent instances have emboldened campaigners into calling for a much tougher approach. And fundamentally they are right to do so: the fact that the Prime Minister and the Met Commissioner have both indicated support for reform is extremely welcome.

Nevertheless, while the renewed focus on these vicious attacks is important, we should not lose sight of the fact that the battle against knives is still the predominant fight facing Britain’s police officers. Recent cuts to policing budgets – and further proposed cuts in the future – do not make the struggle to reduce violent crime in the UK any easier.