Spiking: Understanding the facts and fears

Police and partners have been talking to young people to find out what they know about spiking, and how we can best support them.

Whilst Derbyshire remains below the regional average for cases of spiking, we will never become complacent and will always take the opportunity to raise awareness and prevent incidents from happening.

Officers, staff, and partners showed their support for the national Spiking Awareness Week last week (18-22 March 2024) and amongst the work that was being done, our partners at 1625 Outreach were out and about.

Working closely with our dedicated substance misuse officers and licensing team, they helped to provide resources and lots of cup toppers that were distributed. The team also dispelled some of the common myths around spiking.

They also provided personalised anti-spiking information packs as well as being on site at the University of Derby on Wednesday (20 March).

1625 Outreach is a harm reduction service and provides non-judgemental, fact-based information and support on drug and alcohol use.

They also provided the Union of Students with 50 made-up packs to give out for student nights and gave the same to some bars and clubs, where the staff were very positive about the work being done by the Outreach team.

The team also conducted a survey on personal experiences to gain valuable information on circumstances where people believe they have been spiked, as well as who they would speak to about it and information that could help them.

Beth Warrilow, Team Leader for 1625 Outreach, said: “Thank you to everyone who came and spoke to us last week whilst we were out and about and to those that completed the survey for us.

“We got some valuable information from our survey which we will use to target our work.

“One of the things you told us was that you wanted advice around signs that a drink has been spiked, as well as what to do if your drink has been spiked.

“We have wealth of information and signs to look out for on our website and are committed to keeping the young people in Derby aware, safe and well.

T/Detective Chief Inspector Jim Carver, the force’s lead for spiking and substance misuse, said: “It has been great to support this national campaign and working with 1625 Outreach who do some brilliant work on this.

“Being out and about speaking to people as we were last week is so important in our prevention work, especially when it comes to issues like spiking.

"We’re very fortunate that we are below the regional average when it comes to incidents in Derbyshire. However, we are committed to prevention and not letting it happen in the first place. This is why we supported our partners and the national campaign.

“We also found out some useful information from the survey conducted by 1625 Outreach – most prominently that a lot of people don’t think they would be taken seriously or that there would be enough proof if they wanted to report it.
“What we would say is please speak up at the earliest opportunity – you will always be listened to when you report an incident like this to us.

“Even speaking up to a friend or to bar staff makes all the difference. The earlier it is reported, the better chance there is to capture any evidence needed.
“You also wanted more awareness around the reporting of spiking. In the first instance, tell someone straight away – whether that be a friend or bar staff member.

“You can call us on 101, or 999 in an emergency, or if there is an officer close by, please feel free and able to speak to them directly.

“You can also report online through our spiking reporting tool. 

There is no time limit on reporting spiking offences, whether it just happened or whether it happened a while ago, you can tell us about it.”