An MP has called for drastic measures to be taken to protect clubgoers from being spiked - suggesting everyone should be searched and scanned before entering the premises.
Geraint Davies MP has called for his constituency of Swansea to lead the way in the fight to clamp down on people having their drinks spiked or being injected with needles whilst at nightclubs, an action he says is always taken to "rape or rob" victims.
He feels this can be delivered by an enhanced scanning and searching process on entry to the premises and the upgrade of CCTV facilities. It comes as nightclubs look set to reopen in Wales from Friday, January 28.
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Last October, police began investigating a number of reports of spiking in Swansea, after claims circulated about a number of young women falling victim to the crime in Wind Street.
Among them was one 25-year-old who shared a photo of what happened to her after she was reportedly spiked while on a night out in Uplands.
Swansea MP Mr Davies said: "The reports I have had from the student union and others shows there are dozens and dozens of these spikings in Swansea alone, and there is a concern they are not always taking seriously enough by bouncers, by the health authority, by police officers which assume people are drunk, when in fact they have been spiked either in their drinks or physically with a needle.
"Having had private meetings with a number of victims, and then got involved in a big protest that we did going around Swansea outside the clubs, what we want to see is more action to protect victims and to look after them and to chase down and punish perpetrators.
"In particular, we want to see more searching and scanning at the entrance so that we can detect any needles or drugs that have been brought in. There are detectors which people can walk through but there are also ones which involve a wand that can detect smaller items like quite small needles, not the ones a lot of people will imagine. We're looking at all over scans but also scanners which are basically handheld wands and physical searches as well.
"We want better CCTV, these days you can get high resolution CCTV, even in low light. We want a situation where if people, women in particular, say they have been spiked between certain times in a particular club, that there is a facility to take that CCTV to try and identify who's responsible and resources should be put into that."
Mr Davies even suggested that disclaimers should be signed by people on entry to clubs.
He said: "My view is we want to move to a situation whereby when people enter clubs and that they provide proof of age and identity, they leave that identity and sign a disclaimer saying that if there are criminal events that occur that CCTV will be looked at and they give their consent to that, and that would allow the people responsible to be hunted down and arrested.
"People who are the perpetrators need to understand that we are out to get them, and they can't just get away with this horrendous crime which basically consists of stabbing someone with poison with a view to raping or robbing them. There has been a number of awful cases.
"If there is a checklist of what these clubs are to do, then students and other young people going to these clubs will know which clubs do the most to protect their customers and people will tend to migrate to where they are safer."
Mr Davies said he has held a joint meeting with representatives from the student community, victims, together with the police, Swansea Council and the health authority to put his ideas forward.
"It's about moving forward together from here," he said.
"I would like to see us in Swansea taking leadership here with some of these ideas to send the message that Swansea is a safe place to work and play as well as enjoy the environment - that it is a welcoming place where you are safe."
