Appears to be a growing, particularly nasty and worrying trend. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-40604002 They deserve a fierce punishment. This is a wanton wrecking of people's lives, utterly gratuitous. Is a restriction of sales a practical possibility? Would seem like a good thing if it was, not that the human mind can't sadly think of numerous ways to inflict hurt.
It's absolutely disgusting of course but where do you stop with respect to regulation. Anything used in the wrong way on someone can hurt or kill and restricting sale based on age is not a de facto solution. Diamond is right, you need to get the law enforcement and sentencing sorted, but you're never going to prevent the random non-premeditated stuff. Reductions in provision of mental health care may well be a contributory factor to any recent rise, but is there a sea change in attacks? in method & reporting maybe, in numbers I don't know.
Yes it's risen significantly. It also seems to be being used to facilitate theft which is more worrying as often the gain (a phone or some cash) is minimal. And as stupid dumb dumb criminals hear more about it so more copycat types get involved. Ultimately you can get the acid from a car battery - how do you regulate that?
A harsh sentence would be the only realistic deterrent I imagine. Unfortunately I can see things getting worse before they get better and wouldn't be surprised to see a flurry of copycat attacks over the next couple of weeks.
I doubt it, pretty much all the stuff used so far is household stuff. Would seem impractical to ban it.
Why can't you do both? Neither is a "solution" on its own but each would reinforce the other. Limiting regulation to keep a free market in place is one thing. Regulating to protect innocent people from life-changing injuries caused by criminals is quite another.
Of course the sale of dangerous chemicals, knives guns, alcohol etc is already regulated and what is regulated needs to be regularly reviewed but you'd need to draw the line somewhere. However we can't step in and control the sale of Washing powder and pretty much every cleaning material All aerosols Any heavy object Anything remotely sharp. Anything in glass jar or bottle? It's just not practical. Little Jonny can't do his art homework because pencils are sharp and the shop is not allowed to be sell them to under 18s. Yet a 19 year old drug addled person with metal issues can buy a kitchen knife without issue. At some point people need to take personal responsibility and responsibility for minors in their care and ensure. The government doesn;t have tiem to run the country properly let alone interject in every single sale transaction.
I don't especially see the distinction between restricting sales of acid to minors and restricting the sale of knives. Or lighter fluid. Or glue. All of which were previously purchasable and are now restricted. I quite agree that you can't stop your 19 year old, but that's why you also have severe criminal sanctions as well.
Agreed I'm surprised that chemicals are not on the attached list of Age restricted items. https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/bus...ing-standards/Pages/Age-restricted-sales.aspx Problem is how do you define a chemical as opposed to a cleaning product etc. I would certainly suggest that a chemical sold as a chemical should be restricted in the same way a solvent is which is essentially just a type of chemical. Do we know exactly what was used? Bleach is commonly used in chemical attacks and mislabelled as an acid by the press. It;s clear something needs to be done. Advertising the attacks all over the media is not necessarily a good plan either as it gives people ideas they might not have previously had.
True and like UEA says, easy to get from another product. But it might be worth reacting to the current circumstances even if that can't ever wipe out the crime entirely. It also does appear that the effects of acid attacks are so long-lasting and personally damaging it could be worth exploring whether making it difficult to get, particularly by age related sales, could be helpful.
I'd have no problem bringing capital punishment back for acid throwers. It is a disgusting, cowardly and thoroughly inhumane thing to do to another person.
I question what state society is in when it leads to teenagers performing acid attacks. Restricting sales isn't going to solve the problem.
Walking round with a mask on my face from now on. I'd rather just be shot or stabbed than have my face melt away.
20 years minimum, no excuses, no early release, no contributory factors taken into account, oh and chemical castration-that should do it. This ought to apply to many other crimes too. Deterrent, punishment and keeping out of the general publics way is what I say!
Build a load of prisons. 50 years. No parole. 200 year sentences for murder. No parole. You get the idea. I don't care if it reduces crime. It is good for morale.
One of those crimes where gratuitous coverage of isolated attacks has publicised the concept and created a copycat trend. The media and the voyeuristic consumer of stories about women with no face bear some responsibility
Hard to prove. Criminals are often inventive and do discuss their methods. Easy ways of hurting become popular with little publicity. I'm also not sure why women without faces shouldn't tell their stories. If anyone is in need of sympathy and cash they are. Katie Piper, is an inspiring person.
I've questioned it more when it's been adults, who can fully comprehend their actions (although I'm sure the teenagers knew), that are throwing acid in the face of others. The teenagers that were responsible for the latest attacks are part of a much wider problem, especially in London, and I wouldn't be surprised if their attacks were part of some sort of initiation to a gang.
Even though the perpetrator is 16, I think they should throw the book at him, a very harsh sentence will be a deterrent enough to prevent some copycat attacks.