LONDON, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Corrosive substance attacks in England and Wales in 2022 increased by 69 percent from the previous year, according to data released by the charity Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI) on Thursday.
The organization found that the number of such offenses increased from 421 in 2021 to 710 in 2022.
London, among all regions in England and Wales, recorded the second highest rate of such attacks in 2022, following Northumbria.
A freedom of information (FOI) request has revealed that London's Metropolitan Police (Met) recorded 107 acid attacks in the city last year, a 45 percent increase from 2021.
"The use of corrosive substances to commit crime devastates lives, often inflicting serious injuries and causing psychological trauma to survivors that will last a lifetime," Alexis Boon, deputy assistant commissioner from the Met, said.
The ASTI also found that each acid attack costs 63,000 British pounds (76,500 U.S. dollars) to society, resulting in an economic cost of over 44 million pounds for the 710 attacks in 2022.
"The UK has one of the highest rates of recorded attacks in the world," Jaf Shah, executive director of ASTI, said, adding that "the need for prevention is greater than ever." (1 British pound = 1.21 U.S. dollars) ■
