Met Police data reveals there were 536 acid attacks in 2025 – up from 103 in 2023

A series of Freedom of Information requests shows the Metropolitan Police Service recorded a staggering 904 acid attacks over the last three years.

Data, acquired by Legal Expert, shows the number of violent incidents soaring more than fivefold, jumping from 103 in 2023 to 265 in 2024, before reaching a 536 in 2025.

A detailed breakdown of the force’s data reveals that in more than a quarter of the Met’s cases, totalling 267 investigations across the three-year period, the file was closed without a suspect ever being identified.

Even when perpetrators were named, accountability was often thwarted across the three years, with 179 investigations collapsing entirely because victims did not support, or withdrew their support for, police action despite detectives identifying a suspect.

Meanwhile, the City of London Police recorded two acid attacks within its square mile over the same period, in 2023 and 2025. However, following further enquiries, the force clarified that the recorded 2025 incident was a false alarm regarding corrosive substances.

Responding to the figures, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said that since 2023, the force has “quadrupled the charge rate for acid attacks”. They added that throughout the capital, they have also “reduced all levels of serious violence and work tirelessly to apprehend dangerous offenders and protect the public from harm”.

Providing background to their response, the force noted that Londoners are less likely to be a victim of violent crime, at 26.4 offences per 1,000 population, than across the rest of England and Wales, which sits at 31.9 offences per 1,000 population.

“These figures highlight a deeply concerning lack of accountability for what is a barbaric and life-altering crime,” said Ellie Lamey, a Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) specialist at Legal Expert. “When perpetrators of such horrific attacks go unidentified, victims are robbed of the justice and closure they so rightfully deserve.

“Corrosive substance attacks leave victims with devastating physical and psychological scars that can take a lifetime to heal. It is absolutely vital that survivors understand they are not alone and that they can still seek specialist support and financial compensation to help rebuild their lives, even if their attacker has completely evaded the courts.”

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