Spiking offences recorded by police result in a charge less than 2 per cent of the time, figures show

Exclusive: ‘This is emphatic proof that this appalling crime is not being taken seriously enough,’ says Labour

Fewer than 2 per cent of spiking cases resulted in a charge over the past five years, figures suggest (Getty)

Fewer than 2 per cent of spiking offences recorded by police result in a charge, figures obtained by The Independent reveal.

Several thousand closed investigations into injection spiking and drink spiking across almost a five-year period produced just 130 charges, data gathered from dozens of police forces across England and Wales show.

Most of the forces who responded had not charged a single person over spiking during this time.

Victims said they felt let down by investigations that had led to nothing, while Labour said the findings were “emphatic proof” that the crime was “not being taken seriously enough” and called for an urgent review into how cases were handled.

An investigation by The Independent – which submitted freedom of information requests to all 43 police forces in England and Wales – looked at the outcome of drink and injection spiking investigations between 2017 and late 2021, with many of the responses providing information up to October and November 2021.

Police closed investigations into more than 6,870 spiking offences during this period, according to responses from 31 forces. Only 130 of these – or 1.89 per cent – resulted in a charge or a court summons.

Dawn Dines, from Stamp Out Spiking UK (SOS UK), said that there are many more cases that do not get reported to police, because victims feel shame or fear they will not be believed. The true percentage of incidents resulting in a charge “would be frightening”, she added.

Steve Reed, the shadow justice secretary, told The Independent: “This is emphatic proof that this appalling crime, which is linked to rape, sexual assault and other violent offences that most heavily affect women and girls, is not being taken seriously enough.

“The lack of prosecutions for spiking forms a pattern of falling prosecutions for serious offences, which is failing women and girls.”

Bedfordshire Police had the highest charge rate for spiking investigations of all the forces that responded to FOI requests, at just over 6 per cent, with 114 alleged offences leading to seven charges. Dorset Police had the second-highest rate, at 4.7 per cent, with nine charges among 190 recorded offences.

The Metropolitan Police charged 60 people in around 2,040 investigations – a rate of just under 3 per cent. Some of these charges, as with other forces, were for “alternative offences” to the ones initially reported – although, given that those involved in spiking cases can be charged under several different offences, it is possible that some suspects may have faced related charges.

Leicestershire Police, Sussex Police and Thames Valley Police all had a charge rate of below 1 per cent.

Sixteen out of the 31 forces that responded to FOI requests had not charged a single person for a spiking offence during the time period in question, despite closing investigations into more than 1,300 incidents between them.

These included Surrey Police, Cumbria Police, and Devon and Cornwall Police – all of which said they take reports seriously. Northumbria Police, City of London, Kent Police and Merseyside Police also had a zero per cent charge rate between 2017 and late 2021.

Individual forces noted that their systems for recording crime data may differ from those used by others.

Speaking about possible reasons for charge rates being so low, anti-spiking campaigner Ms Dines said that the drugs used can leave a victim’s system within hours.

The lack of prosecutions for spiking forms a pattern of falling prosecutions of serious offences, which is failing women and girls

Steve Reed, shadow justice secretary

She said: “If you wake up, you’re disorientated, you don’t know what’s happened, you’ve got no memory, then you’re not going to go straight to the police station and say, ‘Please take my blood,’ or to the hospital.”

This was the experience of Nadia,* who was spiked on a night out in Birmingham during her first weeks at university last year.

She lost her memory after just a few drinks. For a few days afterwards, she suffered after-effects that she says were “so heavy and draining”.

The 19-year-old went to the police after a few days and was told to do a blood test. “But as it had taken me over 48 hours to gain the energy and sense to contact them, it seemed unlikely anything would show in my system,” she told The Independent.

Nadia said her case has probably not progressed further as a result of the testing having taken place too late.

A National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) spokesperson said: “The substances used to spike drinks dissipate quickly, and unfortunately, in a number of cases, due to delays in reporting these events, an allegation of drink spiking cannot actually be proven due to forensic difficulties.”

From the start, no one believed me

Cassie Coulthard, a 23-year-old who was spiked in Bristol

The NPCC urged anyone who believes they have been a victim or witness of spiking to contact the police, insisting officers will investigate and take reports seriously. They added: “You should try to report it to the police as quickly as possible, to help officers carry out tests and gather the best evidence.”

Detective Stewart Dipple from Dorset Police said police often receive reports after “the window of opportunity for forensic recovery has passed”.

He also said that the “reported victim is not routinely tested in hospital”, which can make it difficult to work out whether spiking has taken place. His force has increased its use of testing kits, he said.

Dr Adrian Boyle, vice-president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, told The Independent last year that A&E departments do not generally test people who fear they have been subject to spiking.

Ellie, a 19-year-old who did not want to share her last name, said she was taken to hospital last year after being spiked in London. She had passed out and been “violently” sick, but did not have any tests conducted.

She never reported the incident to the police. “I knew my bloods hadn’t been taken and so I felt as though I wouldn’t have had enough proof.” The teenager added: “Both ambulance staff and hospital staff were treating me as if I was just another young drunk girl being brought in on Halloween.”

Ms Dines from SOS UK said she wanted to see more education for frontline staff – including in emergency services and in nightlife venues – to speed up the process for victims and ensure they get the evidence they need. It could also help to stamp out the crime in the first place, she said.

“This is such a difficult crime to prove,” she added. “But the more education we give on it, the more the bar staff know, the more security know, [the more] they can look out for these sorts of things.”

Cassie Coulthard, a 23-year-old from Bristol, told The Independent she was accused of being too drunk by bouncers, along with a taxi driver who turned her away, when she was spiked five years ago. “From the start, no one believed me,” she said.

Ms Coulthard went to hospital the next day and was told it was too late to do checks for spiking, as the drug would be out of her system – which she now doubts.

Cassie Couthlard says ‘no one believed her’ when she was spiked five years ago (Supplied)

Police told her they would check CCTV in the Bristol club. She phoned back for an update after not hearing anything. “They said that they were closing the case – maybe a couple of weeks afterwards,” she said. The person who spiked her was never found.

Clara* said she felt let down by police after she was spiked as a 29-year-old in north London in 2019. Her bag was also stolen at the time.

“I didn’t hear anything back from them until a few months later when I got an impersonal ‘courtesy’ call for feedback on how they had handled the situation, where I complained that literally nothing had been done,” the 32-year-old told The Independent. “And then I never heard from them again.”

Labour has called for “an urgent review into how the criminal justice system treats and investigates cases of spiking” – including the adequacy of police investigations.

A poll carried out for The Independent earlier this year found that four in 10 women said they didn’t think the police would take them seriously if they reported that their drink had been spiked. In addition, one in nine women surveyed said they had had their drink spiked in the past.

Alan Collins, a partner at law firm Hugh James, told The Independent: “Victims may be oblivious until they start to feel the effects, and by this time the perpetrator will have moved on or blended into the crowd. This is the reality, which makes it very difficult to detect and prosecute the perpetrators.”

He added: “Detection rates are so low because of the very nature of the crime, but this can only be turned around through education, and the hospitality industry taking a greater responsibility for what occurs on their premises.”

Many venues took steps aimed at tackling spiking this year, after a wave reports of injection spiking thrust the crime into the spotlight and nightclub boycotters called for greater action.

Nearly 1,400 incidents of this were reported to police between last September and the first few weeks of this year, according to a police chief who warned of a “new phenomenon”. Figures obtained by The Independent reveal at least 114 such offences were recorded between 2017 and 2020 by just over half of the police forces in England and Wales.

A government spokesperson said: “Reports of spiking are extremely disturbing and the police are taking this issue seriously, dedicating both local and national resources to investigating it.”

Spokespersons for Devon and Cornwall Police and Thames Valley Police said that their forces take spiking reports seriously and launch proportionate investigative responses.

Temporary superintendent Nick Dias from Sussex Police said his force takes spiking reports “extremely seriously” and has been “proactive in implementing preventative measures” with venues.

A Surrey Police spokesperson said that investigations are launched and enquiries carried out as soon as it receives reports.

Assistant Chief Constable Neil Hutchison from Nottinghamshire Police said last year that the force investigates every report and is committed to working with and supporting victims.

A Kent Police spokesperson said: “For every incident reported, a thorough investigation is carried out in order to identify those responsible and provide support and assurance to victims.”

Detective Inspector Ben Dyer from Merseyside Police said the force had set up a dedicated investigation team last autumn to respond to spiking reports, which are “extensively investigated” by officers.

A Cumbria Police spokesperson said: “There are complexities with such investigations, however, we encourage anyone who feels they may have been a victim of such an offence to report it to us.”

A Met spokesperson said that drink-spiking offences fall under different categories – including “administering poison to injure” or “administering substance with intent” – which makes data collection complex. “We have also issued specific guidance to officers on evidential recovery related to spiking allegations,” they added.

Other named forces were approached for comment.