Acid Attacks (1252/19)
Request
How many acid attacks were there in 2018?
Please could I get the figures for 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 separately?
In each case, are you please able to provide me with details of whether the attacker was caught, or not?
Response
Please find attached our response.
Please note that these data should be interpreted with caution. Comparing numbers of incidents/crimes can be misleading and does not necessarily indicate the likelihood of someone being a victim of crime. In addition, the number of incidents/crimes recorded in an area over a period of time can be influenced by a number of factors. Consequently statistics on incidents/crimes for one period may not necessarily be a good indicator of future incidents in that area.
Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from a number of data sources used by forces for police purposes. The detail collected to respond specifically to your request is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when interpreting those data.
The figures provided therefore are our best interpretation of relevance of data to your request, but you should be aware that the collation of figures for ad hoc requests may have limitations and this should be taken into account when those data are used.
How many acid attacks were there in 2018?
See table below
Please could I get the figures for 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 separately?
| Year | Total |
| 2014 | 4 |
| 2015 | 4 |
| 2016 | 2 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 7 |
| Grand Total | 17 |
In each case, are you please able to provide me with details of whether the attacker was caught, or not?
Outcome of Crimes recorded.
| Year | Outcomes | Total |
| 2014 | CHARGE OR SUMMONS | 2 |
| 2014 | INVESTIGATION COMPLETE: NO SUSPECT IDENTIFIED. | 1 |
| 2014 | (blank) | 1 |
| 2015 | NAMED SUSPECT IDENTIFIED: EVIDENTIAL DIFFICULTIES PREVENT FURTHER ACTION: | 4 |
| 2016 | INVESTIGATION COMPLETE: NO SUSPECT IDENTIFIED. | 2 |
| 2018 | INVESTIGATION COMPLETE: NO SUSPECT IDENTIFIED. CASE CLOSED PENDING FURTHER INVESTIGATIVE OPPORTUNITIES | 4 |
| 2018 | NAMED SUSPECT IDENTIFIED: EVIDENTIAL DIFFICULTIES PREVENT FURTHER ACTION | 1 |
| 2018 | (blank) | 2 |
*Please note these figures include acid attacks on vehicle/property as well as the person.
If you decide to write an article / use the enclosed data we would ask you to take into consideration the factors highlighted in this document so as to not mislead members of the public or official bodies, or misrepresent the relevance of the whole or any part of this disclosed material.
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