What should the Government do to stop drink and needle spiking?

What's the problem?

In October 2021 a sudden increase in the number of spiking incidents across the country was reported. At the same time reports of a new spiking method that involved individuals being spiked with a needle were hitting the news.

Drink spiking is a heinous crime which often has a damaging physical or mental health impact on its victims which undermines their confidence.

We, MPs on the Home Affairs Committee, launched an investigation into the problem of spiking

We heard about how victims often experience memory loss or blackouts that hamper their ability to provide details of the spiking incident, if indeed they are prepared to report it at all.

When telling us about the process of reporting this crime, victims told us:

1. they didn't believe the police would do anything
2. they did not know where to report the crime
3. they were concerned that it was too late to report

Even when victims report the crime, a victim-blaming culture can compound trauma and mean missed opportunities to collect evidence.

We launched a survey to ask victims and witnesses of spiking about their experiences.

When asked in our survey, victims did not report 75% of incidents, and reported only 14% of incidents to the police.

The most common reason was that respondents didn’t think the police would do anything about it.

The second most common reason for not reporting was a lack of awareness about how to do so.

Other reasons for delays in reporting include:

• 'By the time I realised what had happened I thought it was too late to report it'
• Fear, confusion and memory loss caused by the spiking itself, leading to a reluctance to engage
• Physical unwellness caused by the spiking or associated activity, causing victims to prioritise a quiet recovery.

So what next?

Following our research here are three things the Government must do to better protect spiking victims, prevent these crimes and support victims.

1. Improve protection against spiking

In our survey of spiking victims the most popular measure to help prevent future incidents from occurring was 'more or improved security measures in/around premises'

175,000 petitioners responded to an e-petition 'to make it a legal requirement for nightclubs to thoroughly search guests on entry',

The Government says:

"The law already allows licensing authorities to impose conditions such as searches. Decisions on this should be made locally, taking account of circumstances, and there are no plans to change the law."

We are concerned that the Government is not doing enough to monitor licensing authorities’ use of powers to regulate the night-time economy, both with specific regard to spiking incidents and more generally in relation to violence against women and girls.

Within three months the Government should collect data on local licensing authorities’ use of their powers over premises licenses and work with local authorities to develop an anti-spiking strategy.

And the Government should consider a support package for night-time industries to boost security measures and combat critical shortages of door security staff.

2. Better education on spiking

Around a quarter of those who received support following reporting their experience were dissatisfied. Many felt that the authorities didn't believe them or treated them disrespectfully.

There is an urgent need for improved education and awareness around spiking across several sectors. As part of its national communications campaign to say "Enough" to violence against women and girls, The Government should engage with the night-time industry, the education sector, and the health sector to produce a national anti-spiking communications campaign.

3. Supporting victims reporting spiking

We asked victims who did report incidents what happened as a result. Venues did not act in most cases, the police often took some action but it rarely led to an offender being identified or taken to court.

The level of prosecutions for spiking offences is very low, this is often due to absence of evidence from delay in reporting or insufficient forensic testing provision and difficulties in identifying and apprehending perpetrators.

Accessibility to testing is an issue for many victims and the lack of forensic testing capacity creates evidential difficulties for the police.

To ensure adequate and timely provision of forensic sampling of a standard sufficient to be admissible as evidence in court, the Government should introduce a duty on all police forces to provide those who report any spiking incident with the rapid testing service introduced in response to the outbreak of needle spiking.

The Government must now respond to our report.

Our report, Spiking was published on 26 April 2022.

Detailed information from our inquiry can be found on our Committee website.

If you’re interested in our work, you can find out more on the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee website. You can also follow our work on Twitter.

The Home Affairs Committee is a cross-party committee of MPs responsible for scrutinising the work of the Home Office and its associated bodies. It examines government policy, spending and the law in areas including immigration, security and policing.