Criminals who are caught twice with corrosive substances will automatically face a prison sentence of at least six months under proposals to counter the threat of acid attacks.
The “two strikes” rule will mirror the regime for those convicted of more than one knife possession offence.
Online retailers could face criminal proceedings if they deliver knives to a buyer’s home in a measure aimed at clamping down on sale of blades to children and teenagers.
The steps form part of a drive to tackle violent crime following a surge in offences recorded by police.
After a flurry of high-profile incidents, earlier this month the Government announced plans to create a new offence of possession of a corrosive substance in public without a good or lawful reason.
The full Home Office consultation document published on Saturday reveals the proposed crackdown will also see those convicted for a second time face a mandatory minimum sentence.
Important first aid advice from @NHSEngland on what to do in the event of an acid attack #ReportRemoveRinse pic.twitter.com/65W9FCEwVT
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) September 26, 2017
The approach will be modelled on a system rolled out in 2015 for offenders repeatedly caught with knives.
Minimum sentences were introduced for those aged 16 and over who are convicted of a second or subsequent offence of possession of a knife or offensive weapon.
The punishment is at least six months’ imprisonment, which can include suspended terms, for adults, while young offenders face a minimum four-month detention and training order.
Judges must impose the minimum sentence unless there are particular circumstances relating to the latest offence, the previous offence or the offender which would “make it unjust to do so in all the circumstances”.
The consultation document says it is not intended that “corrosive substance” will be defined in legislation as the offence “must be flexible enough to cover a range of possible situations: from someone possessing a corrosive substance in a public place that if used as a weapon can leave life-changing injuries; through to someone using a less harmful corrosive substance which if used as a weapon can still be very unpleasant to the victim but the effect is not lasting”.
A new offence to stop the sale of acids and the most harmful corrosive substances to under-18s is also being weighed up.
Police figures show there were 408 attacks using corrosive substances between November 2016 and April this year.
The approach will be modelled on a system rolled out in 2015 for offenders repeatedly caught with knives (Katie Collins/PA)
“The use of corrosive substances as a weapon is centuries old, but whilst the number of offences is relatively small, we are concerned about its increasing use as a weapon,” the document says.
It also sets out plans unveiled earlier this year to tighten the regime covering online sales of knives following concerns that age-verification checks can be sidestepped.
Where a knife is sold on the internet, it will be an offence to deliver the item to a private residential address.
The buyer would have to collect the knife in person at a location where their age can be checked.
The new offence “will provide additional safeguards to the current legislation”, the consultation document says, flagging up concerns that “too many online sales break the law that knives must not be sold to under 18s”.
It will be for retailers to decide where purchasers can collect the knives bought online and have their age checked, the Home Office said.
The document suggests online-only sellers could enter third-party agreements with another retailer, collection service or post office.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said: “All forms of violent crime are totally unacceptable, which is why we are taking action to restrict access to offensive weapons and crack down on those who carry acids with the intent to do harm.”
The proposals relating to online sales of knives and possession and sales of corrosive substances apply to England, Wales and Scotland.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel