Laws on spiking must be fit for the 21st Century

Today, Judith led a debate in Parliament calling for a new standalone offence for spiking.

One poll conducted by YouGov found that 11% of women and 6% of men said that they had been spiked. The National Police Chiefs’ Council have said that they believe this figure is likely to be much higher, whilst one study found that 97% of spiking victims never report the incident to police.

Reports of Drug-Spiking incidents have increased 5-fold in the five-year period between 2018 and 2022, but the proportion of those reports leading to a criminal charge have dropped from 4% to 0.23%.

Speaking in Parliament, Judith said:

“With a charging rate that rounds down to zero per cent, it is not a surprise that victims do not have confidence in our current laws in this respect when it comes to spiking.”

As it currently stands, Spiking is not a specific criminal offence under the law, but is prosecuted using 7 separate offences.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council have said that a separate offence would help police ‘understand the scale of the problem’, ‘enable a far more accurate picture to be realised’, and allow ‘enhanced support for victims’.

Outdated laws mean less than a quarter of a per cent of reported spiking leads to criminal charges

Speaking on the current legislation, Judith said:

“It is time that Parliament took a stand against this injustice, and created a standalone law on spiking which is fit for the 21st Century.”

In 2022, then-Home-Secretary, Priti Patel, said that the Government was looking into “a specific criminal offence to target spiking directly”, but in January 2023, a Home Office Minister carried out a policy ‘U-turn’ by saying that a new law on spiking was ‘unnecessary’.

Since then, in a letter in July 2023, the Home Office said that they were reconsidering whether a specific offence was required, but the Prime Minister subsequently said that he did not believe a specific offence on spiking was necessary.

Challenging the Government on their current position, Judith said:

‘On an issue which demands certainty and clarity, we have a Government which is uncertain and unclear about its own position.’

Speaking following the debate, Judith once again called for action:

‘There can be no more dither and delay. This situation demands bold and determined action.’

‘This Government must create a specific offence on Spiking which will offer clarity, and full protection to victims under the law.’