Drink spiking to be made standalone criminal offence

13 comments

1. **From The Telegraph:**

   Spiking a drink is to be made a standalone offence under a new law to be announced in the King’s Speech on Wednesday.

   Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, and Dame Diana Johnson, the new policing minister, believe the move will help improve the investigation, prosecution and reporting of cases.

   Currently, spiking can be prosecuted as an assault or under the Offences Against the Person Act, but it is not a [specific offence](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/25/starmer-calls-for-drink-spiking-to-be-a-specific-offence/).

   The home affairs committee, which both [Ms Cooper](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/yvette-cooper/) and Dame Diana have chaired, previously recommended it should be recognised as a standalone crime punishable by up to 10 years in jail.

   The proposed new law is expected to be [among 35 Bills announced by the monarch on Wednesday morning](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/07/14/keir-starmer-target-shoplifters-knife-crime-kings-speech/).

   Spiking involves putting alcohol or drugs into a victim’s drink without their knowledge or permission. It can also include injecting someone with a drink or drugs, as well as adding such substances to food, vapes or cigarettes.

   Police received [6,732 reports of spiking](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/wellbeing/sex/drink-spiking-victim-experience-what-to-do-police/) in the year ending April 2023, including 957 cases involving needles. The average age of victims was 26, with women accounting for 74 per cent of all cases.

   Most reported incidents – 80 per cent – occurred in public places, particularly in [bars or nightclubs](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/12/31/uk-anti-drink-spiking-laws-regulations-protect-victims/), according to figures from the National Police Chiefs’ Council.

   Some 10 per cent of women and 5 per cent of men reported being the victim of spiking in a YouGov poll carried out in December 2022.

   The [Metropolitan Police](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/metropolitan-police-service/) also said there was a 13 per cent increase in recorded cases in London last year.

   **Article Link:** [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/07/15/drink-spiking-standalone-criminal-offence-kings-speech-law/](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/07/15/drink-spiking-standalone-criminal-offence-kings-speech-law/)

2. I think spiking is way more common with alcohol and to a certain extent more socially acceptable. It was not uncommon when I was younger for people to get given doubles rather than singles ‘as a treat’.

   Things might have changed now. It was a while ago.

   I’ve never known anybody to admit to putting other drugs in drink, although clearly it happens.

3. And I should fucking think so! I was spiked once (well my mate was and I ended up drinking her drink). Absolutely floored me over Christmas one year and took me about 3 days to recover. Possibly the most unpleasant experience of my life

4. Friend of mine was hospitalised after being spiked. Can’t think why this wasn’t a thing years ago.

5. Somehow I read half of the article before realising it was spiking, I’m here thinking how the fuck is spilling a drink going to be a criminal offence.

6. ‘Punishable by up to ten years in prison’ means ‘12 months in prison’, in modern Britain speak.

7. More grandstanding and pontificating by a government with regards legislation. It’s ALREADY a criminal offence*, so why bring in a law that says the same thing just to look tough on crime.

   *Section 24 Offences against The Person Act 1861: Unlawfully and maliciously administering or causing to be administered to or taken any poison or other destructive or noxious thing with intent to injure, aggrieve or annoy the person taking the substance.
   The maximum sentence is 5 years imprisonment and the offence is indictable only.”
   https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/drug-offences

8. Surely this is covered by current laws, eg offences against the person act.

   Mp really just want to appear busy.

9. Excellent.
   You know the grown ups are in the room when the government make simple and easy adjustments that protect the vulnerable.
   Thank god we’ve seen the back of the Tories.

10. I mean there’s not enough police to enforce the laws we already have, so I’m sure this will change nothing.

11. I’m honestly just shocked it wasn’t already. Essentially it is poisoning someone. You drug them, they could die. It should be an attempted murder charge or at the least assault.

12. I can remember them getting spiked in the night clubs I went into 30 years ago.

    The hand of Justice is indeed long and swift!

13. I know some campaigners were pushing for a law change to act a deterrent but i am not sure it will work. They could always be charged with other offences. I read articles on this before but the numbers of charges brought was small out of thousands of reported cases. That was under the existing legalisation. It is often of lack of evidence (drugs gone from the victim by time of test), lack of police knowing what to look for, also alcohol is often the easiest way of doing it. The other thing I remember from the articles is that is often someone known to the victim who does it,the same in a lot of sexual assault cases.