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Photo by Marcus Herzberg on Pexels.com<\/a><\/p>\nAlmost 8,000 people may have been spiked by drink or drugs on nights out in Scotland over the last five years.<\/p>\n
Police Scotland data shows 760 spiking incidents have been recorded since 2020 with campaigners warning these are just the \u201ctip of the iceberg\u201d.<\/p>\n
Research by the Drinkaware charity has found only one in 10 spiking incidents are actually reported, meaning the true figure in Scotland may be closer to 7600 incidents.<\/p>\n
Police Scotland say 78 spikings reported involved \u201cadministering a substance for sexual purposes\u201d with the remaining 682 recorded as \u201cdruggings\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Scottish Government is under increasing pressure to follow the UK Government lead by making spiking a standalone offence in a bid to increase public awareness and encourage victims to report incidents.<\/p>\n
Scottish Conservative Dumfriesshire MP David Mundell said: \u201cHaving long campaigned for spiking to be a standalone offence, I am very supportive of the provisions within the UK Crime and Policing Bill and of the calls by my constituents, Colin and Mandy Mackie and their Spike Aware UK charity, that an equivalent law should be introduced in Scotland.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile completely respecting the devolution settlement, I am strongly of the view that there should be a common approach across the UK.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt should not matter whether somebody is spiked in Glasgow, Manchester or Cardiff, the effect and the impact should be the same wherever people are, and the criminality should most certainly be the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scottish Liberal Democrat Liam McArthur MSP said it can often be \u201cdifficult and confusing\u201d for victims to report spiking incidents.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cIt doesn\u2019t help that currently there are multiple laws which cover cases of spiking.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Scottish Government should explore whether creating a specific criminal offence would help potential victims come forward to report and help the police identify patterns of offending.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charities say spiking is premeditated and far more common than understood, leaving victims traumatised and in some cases seriously harmed.<\/p>\n
Perpetrators secretly administer knock-out drugs to victims with some leading to sex offences, robbery or thefts, rendering victims disorientated with no memory of the event.<\/p>\n
There is also growing concern over the rise of \u201cspiking for fun\u201d, where victims are spiked in a sick game dubbed \u201cTake Them Down\u201d purely for entertainment.<\/p>\n
Colin Mackie who, together with wife Mandy, launched charity Spike Aware UK following the tragic sudden death of their 18-year-old son Greg in a spiking incident, said the data masked the true scale of the problem in Scotland.<\/p>\n
He said most offences were going unreported due to embarrassment or fear of not being believed.<\/p>\n
Mr Mackie also called on the Scottish Government to make spiking a specific criminal offence for the first time.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cPolice Scotland\u2019s data is only the tip of the iceberg as the majority of spiking attacks go unreported.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is usually because victims have been drinking alcohol and are fearful of not being believed and accused of drinking too much.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of the victims cannot actually recall the detail of what happened to them due to the effects on their memory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Mackie added: \u201cThere are increasing incidents of victims being targeted for spiking for the sake of it or for fun with no theft or assault taking place.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of perpetrators are doing it because they think it\u2019s something funny to do and that they won\u2019t face any repercussions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Data shows Glasgow and Edinburgh had the highest number of spiking reports with 240 and 168 respectively, with the lowest numbers coming from Argyll and West Dunbartonshire at 12 and Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway at 13.<\/p>\n
Police Scotland say they continue to investigate reports of \u201cspiking\u201d and warn adding drugs or alcohol to someone\u2019s drink, or by injection, without their consent \u201cis a criminal offence\u201d.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson said: \u201cEvery report is taken seriously and investigated robustly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are working in communities, with licensees, pubs and clubs, to provide advice and support and to offer bystander training to help spot the signs of when someone may be at risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would encourage anyone who believes they have had their drink spiked or who has been assaulted in this way to contact Police Scotland.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Scottish Government said there were \u201ccomprehensive laws in place that allow Police Scotland to effectively tackle perpetrators of this crime\u201d.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson said they were aware of the provisions within the UK Crime and Policing Bill which were \u201cspecific to England and Wales\u201d.<\/p>\n
They added: \u201cWe will continue to engage with Spike Aware UK, the Home Office and other stakeholders through our roundtable on spiking to assess the need for a similar approach in Scotland.\u201d<\/p>\n
Photo by Marcus Herzberg on Pexels.com<\/a><\/p>\n
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