Protections in the justice system for women and girls
Spiking
Background
Spiking is when someone is given alcohol or drugs without their consent. This could involve adding something to a drink, injecting someone, or even using vaping devices or food. Drink spiking is the most common form and can happen at private gatherings as well as in bars or nightclubs.
Based on cases reported to Police Scotland, it is widely recognised that the majority of victims of the crime of spiking are female.
Context of the issue being raised
The UK Government’s manifesto for the 2024 General Election included a commitment to create “a new criminal offence” to help the police better respond to incidents of spiking.
Although UK Ministers accept that there is no gap in the current law that needs to be filled, and that a range of offences already exist to deal with spiking, they have introduced draft provisions within the Crime and Policing Bill.
The drivers for this have, in part, been in relation to inconsistencies in practice across police forces in England and Wales, as well as concerns about the number of convictions and public confidence in reporting spiking. More widely, there has been significant stakeholder support for such an approach in England and Wales.
Consequently, there have been some comments that a similar approach should be progressed in Scotland.
Our view
Unlike the UK Government, we have not received the same level of demand for a specific spiking offence (either from operational partners or wider stakeholders). We have, however, looked at how the narrative around the criminal justice statistics could be clearer in relation to incidence of spiking and will be making changes in that respect.
Unlike the position in England and Wales, the law on spiking in Scotland is spread across crimes at common law and under legislation. If an approach was taken to try and consolidate the existing law into a single statutory offence, this could result in the loss of flexibility that the common law offers in respect of those crimes and the ability of the courts to adapt and develop the law as required.
The multi-agency approach in Scotland has enabled an informed approach to how we tackle the incidence of spiking, and involvement in this been widened to include colleagues from the UK Government Home Office, so that lessons can be learned and for a more collaborative approach to be taken where appropriate.
You can read more about the multi-agency approach in Scotland below.
Multi-agency approach to spiking in Scotland
In response to an increase in incidents of spiking, and to ensure the Scottish Government’s response was robust and effective, a multi-agency group chaired by the Minister for Victims and Community Safety was established in November 2021 and continues to meet on a regular basis.
Over the last 12 months, there has been great progress in addressing the reporting pathway between police and health professionals. We have ensured that there is a consistent national approach to make sure that individuals who present to Accident & Emergency (A&E) receive clear and uniform advice regarding the roles of health professionals and the police when they report incidents of spiking. This is to reassure victims about the service they will receive. This approach has been endorsed by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine. More details can be found in this NHS24 News Release.
In addition, and in recognition of a need to have an increased understanding of the potential number of incidents, processes have been introduced to allow the recording on the NHS system of spiking victims presenting to A&E. In time, we plan to correlate those with the numbers of victims who report to Police Scotland. This is first initiative of its kind across the UK.