Thousands of bar staff will be trained to spot and stop spiking in England and Wales as the government steps up efforts to tackle violence against women and girls.
About 10,000 hospitality workers will be trained in preventing and dealing with incidents of spiking by spring next year, Downing Street said before a meeting with police and hospitality leaders.
The prime minister will host senior police officers, transport bosses and hospitality industry executives in No 10 on Monday to urge a coordinated response to violence against women.
Labour committed in its manifesto to making spiking a specific criminal offence, though ministers have yet to clarify what form this will take and when a bill could be introduced.
Ministers have vowed to improve the police’s response to spiking incidents, with a plan to train thousands of bar staff expanding on a scheme piloted by the Conservative government last December.
Spiking typically involves putting alcohol or drugs into someone’s drink without their knowledge or permission. It can also involve injecting someone with a drink or drugs, as well as adding it to food, vapes or cigarettes.
Plainclothes officers are being deployed in areas around bars and clubs to spot predatory behaviour and British Transport Police have relaunched their text-to-report number, 61016, which is free to use across all major networks.
Keir Starmer said: “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. Today I will bring together police chiefs, heads of industry and transport bosses to demand coordinated action to stop women being targeted, whether they are out with friends or simply travelling home.
“Cracking down on spiking is central to that mission. We must do more to bring the vile perpetrators who carry out this cowardly act, usually against young women and often to commit a sexual offence, to justice.”
Campaigners have called for a specific criminal offence to make the law simpler and for a greater focus on practical measures.
Samantha Millar, an assistant chief constable who leads the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s work on tackling violence against women and girls, said: “Spiking is a complex offence to investigate as drugs can pass through the system quickly and there is often a lack of evidential opportunities, which is why quick reporting and early evidence gathering, including forensic testing, is key.”
She said police forces were carrying out “regular, targeted patrols of busy town centres and visiting organisations, such as universities, to raise awareness of the symptoms of spiking”.
