Acid attacks from 2019 to 2025

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.25.045278

I note you seek access to the following information:

For each calendar year from 2019, including 2025 to date:

1. The number of offences that were categorised as an acid attack or corrosive fluid offence, broken down by month.
2. The number of offences mentioned in question 1 that were recorded as Violent Offences within the category Violence Against the Person.
3. The number of threats of acid attacks/corrosive fluid attacks against the person, broken down by month.
4. The ethnicity, age and gender of victims of the offences mentioned in question 1, broken down by calendar year.
5. The ethnicity, age and gender of victims of the offences mentioned in question 2, broken down by calendar year.
6. The ethnicity, age and gender of victims of the offences mentioned in question 3, broken down by calendar year.
7. The ethnicity, age and gender of suspects of the offences mentioned in question 1, broken down by calendar year.
8. The ethnicity, age and gender of suspects of the offences mentioned in question 2, broken down by calendar year.
9. The ethnicity, age and gender of suspects of the offences mentioned in question 3, broken down by calendar year.
10. Outcomes of the offences mentioned in 1, broken down by calendar year.
11. Outcomes of the offences mentioned in 2, broken down by calendar year.
12. Outcomes of the offences mentioned in 3, broken down by calendar year.

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full. Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

Please find below a spreadsheet pursuant to your request above.

Please note that with the move to CONNECT (CONNECT is an integrated core policing solution, which replaces eight of our existing data capture systems with one connected system), from CRIS (CRIS is an electronic management system that records criminal offences on crime reports, where actions related to a crime investigation can be documented), saw a shift in the way officers record corrosive attacks and this resulted in higher numbers being recorded.

The below definition should be used for corrosive attacks, but we are seeing other types recorded (incorrectly) including criminal damage offences etc. Therefore, the quality of the data cannot be guaranteed. Please also note that the data should be read in conjunction with the notes page of the accompanying spreadsheet to ensure correct interpretation of the data.

NPCC/HO definition:

All notifiable violence against the person and robbery, involving the throwing, spraying or pouring of acid or a similarly corrosive substance onto the body of another with the intention to disfigure, torture, kill or otherwise incapacitate for criminal purposes.

Acid or corrosive substances are defined as those that cause visible destruction and/or permanent change in human skin tissue at the site of contact.
Data collection is specifically focused on cases where verifiable evidence exists that an acid/corrosive substance has been used or attempted to be used against the person with criminal intent as described. This will include offences where it can be demonstrated:

a) Visible destruction or permanent change in skin tissue has occurred at site of contact of substance used by offender/s

b) Permanent destruction of clothing at site of contact of substance used by offender/s (e.g. burning) and with supporting scientific evidence of acid/alkali having been used via forensic testing.

c) That an attempted (more than merely preparatory) act of throwing, spraying or pouring of an acid/corrosive substance towards another person has occurred but the substance missed or fails to discharge such that harm as outlined in (a) or (b) does not occur.

Forensic testing fully corroborates the attempted use of an acid/corrosive substance which in a forensic scientist’s opinion would have caused harm as outlined in (a) and (b).