From the Essex Police website:
"Drink Spiking is the unlawful administration of a mind-altering substance into another person's drink........ The most common reasons for spiking a drink are:
- Amusement
- Sexual assault/rape
- Theft/robbery
- Kidnap / extortion
Only 1 in 5 rapes are reported each year. With over 900 drink spiking incidents reported nationally during 2002, that means that there were possibly 4,500 of these offences actually carried out."
From ITN news last week:
"Campaigners have welcomed a five-year prison sentence given to a pub doorman who spiked a woman's drink in an attempt to have sex with her.
Michael Wright is believed to be the first person in Britain to be jailed for spiking a woman's drink with a controversial date rape drug.
The bouncer tipped the chemical GHB into the victim's drink from a water bottle, saying it was vodka."
Other recent drink spiking stories:
BBC Scotland: A new scheme to help prevent alcohol and drug-assisted sex attacks is being piloted in the west of Scotland. About 200,000 tamper-free bottle tops are being handed out to 10 licensed premises in an experiment in north Glasgow and East Dunbartonshire.
Scotland's Evening Times: Staff in a Glasgow pub are on high alert after reports of drinks being spiked. Posters have gone up in the Hog's Head pub in Shawlands to warn that 'spikers' have targeted other pubs in the area. The warning follows two incidents at licensed premises in the Shawlands area. New preventative measures, including [SafeFlo] plastic safety tops, have been introduced to stop the problem. Bar staff have been trained to deal with such incidents and remind customers not to leave drinks unattended.
The Scotsman: A Harrowing film about a young woman being attacked after her drink is spiked on a night out is at the heart of a new campaign highlighting the dangers of date-rape drugs. Spiked, which will go out to schools and youth groups around the city, culminates in scenes of a woman lying unconscious in an alleyway with items of her clothes torn off. The film follows the attack victim through the evening - from getting ready to go out with friends, to the point where her drink is spiked in a bar. Police and the Edinburgh Action on Alcohol and Drugs Team hope it will shock people into taking greater care of themselves and others.
Some anti-drink spiking products (from the manufacturers' sites)
SafeFlo is a simple, easily produced cap that fits onto a bottle beverage. As well as promoting hygiene, it is designed to prevent the drink getting spiked. This is a simple device that just clicks on to a bottle to protect the drinker.
Spikey is a brightly coloured plastic “use once only” stopper that glows in UV light so everyone can see that the drink has been protected. Once inserted into the neck of a bottle Spikey cannot be easily removed, creating a seal that helps stop pills and illicit substances (Rohypnol, GHB, more alcohol etc) being slipped into the drink. A hole in the top of the device is just big enough for a straw to poke through. Again the straw cannot be easily tampered with.
The Drink Detective is the only test in the world that detects the most commonly abused drugs that are used to spike drinks for the purpose of rape, robbery or other crimes. The test detects the presence of the following drugs when dissolved in a drink: gamma hydroxybuturate (GHB). Ketamine and the more than 60 drugs in the benzodiazepine group that includes Rohypnol, Valium, Xanax and Clonopin.
Info on drink spiking and date rape
The Roofie Foundation - Britain's only specialised agency dealing with drink spiking and date rape.
Police Federation Police magazine article here.
US research here.
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