Clubs are a party haven for students as long as they're safe
Feature image: Wikimedia Commons, licensed under Creative Commons
Clubs and bars are beginning to be supplied with anti-spiking kits and other safety measures to combat spiking in the UK.
According to statistics supplied by the government, 5000 cases of needle and drink spiking were reported to the police in England and Wales with cases currently decreasing.
YouGov reported 35% of women knew someone who had been spiked, had been spiked or both in December 2022.
Hartlepool, Teeside and locations in Essex have recently been supplied with anti-spiking measures such as metal detectors, glass covers and anti-spiking kits in popular parts of the town centres.
Officers have also begun carrying drink spiking detection strips in Epping Forest and Brentwood, suggesting that measures may spread further across the UK this year.
Nationally, spiking reports peaked in 2021 and have been decreasing since but cases are still prominent in heavily populated areas like London.
A student in Greater London, Lauren, who’s last name will remain private, was spiked in London at popular club XOYO after ordering a vodka and orange juice from the bar.
Lauren said: “I didn’t drink much that night but after I drank it, I have no recollection of the night which is terrifying.”
“I was with friends but they said I disappeared and I woke up covered in bruises the next day but I was okay.”
Being caught spiking carries a maximum prison sentence of ten years in the UK.
Anti-spiking kits which include detection strips and alternative options like glass covers are just a small number of measures being deployed to keep spiking reports decreasing.
“I think me and my friends would feel safer if there were places in clubs where you can go if you’re aware or worried you’ve been spiked,” Lauren said.
“They can look after you and make sure you don’t go home with someone random.”
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