Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Ninth Report - Spiking
Home Affairs Committee
HC 967
Published 26 April 2022
Recommendations
8
Acknowledged
Para 47
Produce national anti-spiking communications campaign engaging night-time, education, and health sectors
Recommendation
As part of its national communications campaign to say “Enough” to violence against women and girls, the Government should engage with the night-time industry, the education sector, and the health sector to produce a national anti-spiking communications campaign. The awareness …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and is working with policing stakeholders to promote key messages, while exploring options for further communications and outreach through the education and private sectors.
Home Office
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20
Acknowledged
Para 97
Commission academic research into spiker motivations for national anti-spiking strategy
Recommendation
The Home Office should commission academic research into the motivations and profile of spikers, to feed into a national strategy for preventing, detecting and prosecuting spiking offences.
Government Response Summary
The government agrees that offender motivations are unclear and will consider options for research into motivations, and intends to carry out a review of existing academic research into spiking.
Home Office
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Conclusions (4)
15
Conclusion
Para 85
Accessibility to testing is an issue for many victims and the lack of forensic testing capacity creates evidential difficulties for the police.
17
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 89
We are pleased that the Home Office is planning a scientific review of testing kits but are concerned that in the meantime victims could get false assurances from such kits.
Government Response Summary
The government recognises the concern about test kits providing false assurances, stating no single kit covers all drugs and urges victims to contact police for forensic analysis, mentioning ongoing evaluations and a statutory review.
19
Conclusion
Para 96
Limited police understanding of the motives and profile of spiking offenders hampers their ability to develop a national strategy on tackling spiking.
21
Conclusion
Para 103
Successful prosecution has a deterrent value for both actual and would-be spikers and sends a clear message that spiking is a crime. We are therefore disappointed by the very low number of successful prosecutions for spiking offences.