Number of acid attacks in London 2002-2023

In 2023, there were estimated to have been 82 acid attacks in London, compared with 97 in 2022. Within a few years, the number of acid attacks in London increased from just 78 in 2012 to 471 in 2017, before gradually falling in the years since. Although overall crime in London has also risen in a similar time period, this type of attack has grown at a far more rapid rate. Most acid attacks in 2017 were committed by young men against other young men, while many of the targets were people riding mopeds. 

Links with moped crime

The targeting of moped drivers by acid attacks was one of the main features of the acid attack crime wave in the late 2010s. One of the established patterns was to incapacitate the driver with corrosive fluid, and then steal the moped, which was hen often used to commit further crimes. The number of crimes committed by people riding a moped in London grew at a very similar rate to acid attacks, reaching 23,909 offences in 2017, compared with just over 1,000 in 2014. Although both these specific types of crimes have declined in the UK capital, violent crime more broadly has remained high. 

Violent crime in the capital

The number of violent crimes reported in London reached a recent peak of over 242,800 offences in 2021/22, declining only slightly in 2022/23. There has, however, been a slight decline in homicides in the UK capital, with offences falling from 159 in 2017/18, to 112 by 2022/23. Although this was by far the most homicides of any police force area in England and Wales, when adjusted for population size, London's homicide rate was lower than eleven other areas.