Drink spiking in clubs will remain “invisible crime” without help, report finds

nme.com:

a new report has concluded.An inquiry into drink spiking by the Home Affairs Committee found that “nine in 10 victims did not receive support” after they had their drink spiked.The findings said that drink spiking is “widespread and dangerous” and have urged the Home Office to make drink spiking a criminal offence by law in the hope it will act as a deterrent.“The creation of a new spiking criminal offence, currently under consideration by the Government, would help improve the response to incidents and effectiveness of prevention strategies”, the committee stated.The committee also completed a survey in response to an increase in drink spiking that was reported in 2021.

Some 1895 respondents said they’d been victims of drink spiking while 1413 people said they’d witnessed drink spiking.Improvements suggested by MPs include more support for victims of drink spiking, more practical action from police and venues where there is a higher prevalence of drink spiking are being urged to take a more pro-active response to prevent future occurrences.Today we have published our report on #Spiking.