Culture Society, Identity and Belonging
Among the 35 bills expected to be announced in the King’s Speech, which sets out Labour’s plan for the UK’s new parliamentary term, is a law to make spiking a specific criminal offence. Spiking, when a drug or alcohol is put into someone’s drink without their knowledge, or into their body through another method, is technically already a crime but is covered by broader legislation. In 2022 the Home Affairs committee reported that the lack of specific spiking offences along with limited reporting, investigation and prosecution meant “there are few deterrents for offenders”. The committee recommended the Home Office make it punishable by up to 10 years in prison. In the year ending April 2023, police received more than 6,700 reports of spiking, including 957 cases involving needles. Tortoise has previously investigated claims of a needle spiking epidemic in the UK, but found no confirmed cases. The much bigger issue seems to be drink spiking with alcohol and drugs.
