02 Nov Surge in drink spiking in the UK
Drink spiking figures in the UK have almost doubled in the last three years according to experts.
There has been a rise in the amount of cases being reported to the police over people’s drinks being spiked. Sky News has issued a series of Freedom of Information requests which has led to the discovery of a 108 per cent rise in police reports in the last 3 years.
The Met Police logged 103 reports in 2015, but that figure rose by 74 per cent to 179 in 2017.
Jim Campbell, a former Home Office toxicologist, has said that figures reported to the police are just a ‘drop in the ocean’ and claims that the majority of drink spiking isn’t reported. He said: ‘Victims feel like they won’t be believed. They rack their brains to figure out what happened the night before, but because of the effects of the drugs they can’t remember.’
The most common ‘date rape’ drugs are gammahydroxybutyrate or GHB and benzodiazepines such as Valium and Rohypnol which act as tranquillisers in the body.
The effects of drugs such as GHB include feeling drowsy, not being able to talk properly, amnesia, vomiting and blurred visions and can leave victims unconscious.
Megan Trew, an illustration student studying in Falmouth spoke of her experience of spiking at university.
‘I haven’t been spiked myself but I don’t tend to buy drinks out as I’m a bit wary of it happening but some of my friends have.’
When quizzed on whether she thought it was becoming more of an issue she said: ‘I do feel like it’s becoming more of a problem recently, particularly during freshers week where obviously lots of people are going out drinking in public areas but I think it’s died down a bit since.’
‘As far as who I think is targeted the most? Definitely girls more as opposed to boys. Younger girls too.’
I asked her what factors she believed to contribute to what a possible victim might look like. ‘Girls who are on their own and vulnerable. I’m not sure what they’re wearing has much to do with it though as people will look for the easiest victim and go for them regardless.’
A common issue involved with the spiking of drinks is that victims are often reluctant to report it to the police knowing that it’s difficult for the police to track down perpetrators. This is mainly because drugs leave the system 72 hours after being consumed. GHB will leave the body after 12 however.
The maximum prison sentence for a drink spiking in the UK is ten years however the sentence can be longer if the lacing is accompanied by a robbery, rape or any other form of assault.
