The Government is set to present a new law to make drink spiking a specific criminal offence, with hopes of new legislation coming into effect as early as December 2024
The change was first proposed in the King’s Speech in July 2024. Although spiking is already recognised as a crime, covered by other pieces of legislation including the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, it currently is not a specific offence.
Spiking is the action of putting a drug into someone’s drink, or into their body through another method, without their consent. Making it a specific offence will assist police with responding to incidents of this nature in which females are disproportionately affected.
As the law currently stands, there is no single offence that covers spiking. Instead, a range of more general offences can potentially be used to prosecute perpetrators. A number of people have been calling for the introduction of a specific offence of spiking or to amend the current law to include a specific reference to the offence of spiking.
The legislative proposals come as 6,732 reports of spiking in England and Wales in the year ending April 2023 were reported, according to Home Office data, of which 957 related to needle spiking. Over 80% of incidents have been reported as taking place in bars and nightclubs.
Drinkaware Monitor, a UK wide survey that observes drinking attitudes revealed that over 2% of respondents to the survey stated that they had had their drinks spiked in the preceding 12 months which equates to 1.2 million adults every year. The same study found that over 90% of people do not contact the police after being spiked.
Drink spiking is largely considered an unreported offence, with many believing that the case will not progress to charge and conviction of the offender. This is compounded by the reality that investigating such matters requires a quick response due to the speed at which drugs pass through the body after they have been consumed. Between 2018 and 2022, the rate of investigation and prosecution dropped from 1 in 25 in 2018 to 1 in 400 in 2022. In this same period, only 54 cases resulted in a suspect being arrested and the matter being referred to the Crown Prosecution Service, according to a recent analysis on Channel 4. It is hoped that raising the profile of such an offence will encourage more incidents to be reported and enable the police to investigate such offences more readily thus increasing the number of successful prosecutions. Some experts however are concerned as to whether the police have the capacity and resources to deal with spiking.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated that spiking is an offence that can have a devastating and long-lasting impact upon a victim. “People shouldn’t have to worry about the safety of their drinks on a night out. These changes are about giving victims greater confidence to come forward, and ensuring that there is a robust response from the police whenever this appalling crime takes place”.
Kier Starmer said in a statement on Sunday 24th November that “My government was elected on a pledge to take back our streets, and we will never achieve this if women and girls do not feel safe at night.” “Cracking down on spiking is central to that mission.”
The PM met with police chiefs, transport leaders and industry executives on Monday 25th November to discuss how women and girls can be protected, with a focus on the issue of drink spiking. The offence does not often happen in isolation, with sexual offences often being committed once an unsuspecting victim is incapacitated. It is hoped that the creation of this new law will act as a deterrent to would-be offenders and anyone who does commit such offences will “feel the full force of the law.”
Sir Kier Starmer’s meeting further sought to review how a coordinated effort between police and hospitality staff can help to combat the prolific issue of spiking. The law would seek to set aside £250,000 in funds to support the training of over 10,000 workers in the hospitality industry to identify when a drink is spiked, and how to deal with such a situation if and when it arises.
There is no set date for when this law is set to take effect, but many ministers including the policing minister, Dame Diana Johnson and the Home Secretary are encouraging the law to become a reality by December 2024.
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