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Acid attacks in the UK are becoming increasingly common. The reason is simple but the timing isn't. In the UK, guns are generally illegal and gun ownership is more of a touchy subject than in the US. I understand that criminals with guns receive a mandatory five year prison sentence. Strict gun control has pushed most criminals to knives. However, after mandatory sentences for knife ownership, criminals are now choosing to injure victims with acid.
Although gun and knife injuries may require extensive rehabilitation, partial recovery from acid attack may be more costly. One victim required 40 operations and continues to receive frequent, lifelong surgery to alleviate complications such as scar tissue on windpipe.
Attackers and victims have a wide variety of backgrounds. In a very English manner, two attackers who were obviously paid, said sorry before attacking one victim. One attacker was a very minor celebrity before and after attacking people in a nightclub and there have been numerous attacks in Scotland. Some incidents are "honor" attacks among immigrants who, for whatever reason, fail to assimilate. However, there has been an increase in acid attacks among ethnic minorities in East London.
The BBC reports that:
The Met Police is "seeing some links" between criminal gangs and the recent spike in acid attacks in London, a senior officer has said.
Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackey said the force was "seeing a move across" to gang members using acid and corrosive fluids in attacks.
But he cautioned evidence was limited as "it's a small data set".
On Monday, MPs debated measures, including tougher sentences, for attacks involving corrosive substances.
The government has also proposed classifying such substances as dangerous weapons.
The deputy commissioner supported efforts to tackle the issue, saying some of the substances are "not even defined by law".
"The impact this sort of attack has on people is extraordinary," he said.
"Many of us have been unfortunate to see quite a bit in our services but acid attacks are really extraordinary and strike at something quite horrific in people's psyche."
Although many incidences are inter-gang attacks (or a brief campaign against food delivery), there are also incidences where acid attack occurs in conjunction with robbery. One pernicious trend is around moped and scooters which are relatively cheap, relatively fast and cut through traffic. They are relatively easy to steal and it is almost impossible to halt a theft in progress. Well, moped crime now occurs in conjunction with acid attack. Variants include using acid to steal a moped from a rider and using a moped to exit the scene of an acid attack.
London police now have 1000 anti-acid kits and every police car will carry 5 liters of water. Although this is useful for acid attacks against police, it does nothing to halt worsening injuries prior to emergency response. This is of particular concern when acceptable response time for emergency services is re-defined in response to failing targets. The most recent incident, which occurred within 100 metres of the local fire department, incurred a 20 minute response from police.
Although there is a strong political reaction that something must be done, these incidences overshadow a police pursuit death in the vicinity which has similarities to a death in 2011 which sparked rioting in multiple English cities.
(Score: 2) by cafebabe on Thursday July 27 2017, @09:54PM
Likewise. I often mention ex-housemates and they've been extremely diverse. They include a professor from Beijing, Mauritians, Ghanans, a Zambian, Jamaiacans, a Russian, a Hungarian barista, a Pakistani, Portuguese pastors and numerous international students. (There was also a bus driver from somewhere in Central Africa. In addition to driving a bus, he had a road construction business which spanned three African countries.) Makerspaces tend to attract a fairly international membership. They also attract awkward and autistic people. So, any difficulties at makerspaces have been mostly medical rather than cultural. At work, I've found East Europeans to be technically formidable. (I am also indebted to an Australian and a New Zealander for art and science respectively.) The majority of my income has come from the hiring decisions of immigrants (and it irks me that my compatriots would overlook me). However, my concerns are not with people with who I've shared a desk or kitchen.
This may be a polarizing factor. My first-hand experience of crime is mixed but skewed towards immigrants. Late payment and non-payment for work has obviously been skewed by contractual parties. Random theft, physical assault and sexual assault has been distinctly skewed towards immigrants. If my direct experience was similar to yours then I presume that my opinion would also be very similar.
I don't mind the foreign student who overstayed because he ran out of money and couldn't afford to leave. I don't object to socialized healthcare covering unexpected illness. However, I object to health tourism. I don't mind high skill experts travelling freely. However, I object to violent foreign criminals, dubious foreign driving licences and bigoted foreign medics which all create avoidable risk.
Actually, I would prefer my nation state to apply more selective ingress filtering. This would create a more diverse and challenging work environment. In this scenario, I'd be competing against people with more education, more skills, more talent and more creativity. I've found that I advance fastest in such circumstances. I'd also have more safety outside of work.
From your experience of native bigots, would this scenario also be beneficial to you?
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