POLICE have now been asked to urgently assess the scale of drink spiking at nightclubs and parties amid a rise in reports and claims some people have been drugged by injection.
Home Secretary Priti Patel has asked forces for an update after some said they had seen more spiking incidents in recent months.
Police chiefs have also been tasked by the Commons Home Affairs Committee to urgently provide more information on their assessment of the scale of the problem after reports of incidents in several parts of the country, including Nottingham, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Groups from more than 30 universities around the UK have joined an online campaign calling for the boycott of nightclubs, with campaigners seeking “tangible” changes to make them safer, such as covers/stoppers for drinks, better training for staff and more rigorous searches of clubbers.
A petition launched last week to make it a legal requirement for nightclubs to thoroughly search guests on entry has already gained more than 120,000 signatures.
Read more: Outrage after Durham University tells people 'don't get spiked' in now deleted-tweet
MP reaction
Durham City’s MP last night said reports drink-spiking in nightclubs are being carried out by ‘abhorrent’ people and are part of a wider pattern of violence against women and girls.
Mary Foy agreed with critics that Durham University’s awareness campaign, #DontGetSpiked, was ‘misguided’ and sent out the wrong message.
Durham University was accused of "victim shaming" in its advice to students who may fall victim to someone slipping a date rape drug into their drink.
The now-deleted tweet said: “Drink Spiking is dangerous and something that you can prevent from happening to you and your friends.
"#dontgetspiked Contact the police as soon as possible in a suspected case so an investigation can be conducted and others protected.”
Read more: Cathedral service to mark 150 years of Durham Miners' Gala
Students reaction
Students reacted angrily to the post.
Durham Students' Union President Seun Twins said: "This victim-blaming messaging is extremely dangerous.
"What was this supposed to achieve other than to divert attention away from predators and predatory behaviour?”
Jonah Graham, Durham SU Welfare and Liberation Officer added on Twitter: "The uni should help students to stay safe (e.g. providing drink covers) and report incidents without insensitively blaming victims.
"All guilt lies with perpetrators - the primary focus must be on them."
Ms Foy said women have the right to safely enjoy the bars and clubs in the city.
She said: “Individuals perpetrating these crimes are abhorrent, and sadly this behaviour fits within a wider pattern of violence against women and girls which must be eradicated from our society.
“The #DontGetSpiked hashtag was certainly deeply misguided.
“While we should be taking every action to protect women at risk, but we should never lose sight of the reality that women are the victims of these assaults and not to be blamed for them.
“I would like to assure female students that I will be making my feelings known to the Vice Chancellor on this matter, as well as offering every assistance to ensure that spiking is clamped down on and the culprits punished.
“It is imperative that we shine a spotlight on this vile act and I will be calling on the university, police, pubs, bars and nightclubs to take every action necessary to protect women from spiking.”
Advice
Advice given to students includes watching drinks being poured, not leaving drinks unattended and not accepting drinks from strangers.
A Durham University spokesperson said: “The health, safety and wellbeing of our students is our first priority and we take students’ concerns very seriously.
“We continue to work with our partners and student leaders to ensure students have the right information and guidance on staying safe during nights out.”
The situation nationally
Last month Essex police began investigating a possible serial drink spiker after 12 victims fell ill over an eight-week period.
Durham University’s campaign advice focussed on drink spiking but concerns have been raised about victims being spiked with syringes with cases reported in Edinburgh, Nottingham, Dundee, and Liverpool.
A University of Nottingham student told how she believes she was spiked with an injection during a night-out with friends.
Zara Owen, 19, from Surrey, said she blacked out soon after arriving at a venue last Monday, telling BBC Breakfast: “I know I didn’t drink as much as I usually would on a night-out this night, and the fact that I don’t remember anything is terrifying for me because this is something that is a very rare occasion to me.
“I’ve never suffered with memory loss and then the next morning … I woke up with a really painful leg.
“I found a pin prick in my leg which was the epicentre of all pain. It made me unable to walk and I was limping around.
“As a young person who’s at university, I’m hearing stories of people who have been to nightclubs and they have been injected. I have heard stories of someone having it through their hand or through their back, so this kind of gave me an idea this had happened to me.”
Nottinghamshire Police said it has seen a rising number of reports of spiking over recent months and has arrested a man as part of a wider operation.
Superintendent Kathryn Craner, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Over the last few months we have seen an increase in reports where people believe that drugs may have been put in their drink … But we’ve also received a small number of reports where people are telling us, as Zara has, that this has been associated with a pain or a mark on a part of their body, scratching sensation, and as though they have been physically spiked.”
The University of Nottingham said it was “extremely concerned” by the reports and was working with police and venues to “monitor, review and learn from incidents and experiences in the city centre”.
Police Scotland is also looking into similar reports. A spokesman said: “Officers are carrying out inquiries and a small number of reports from the Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow areas are being investigated. These do not appear to be linked.”
Larissa Kennedy, president of the National Union of Students (NUS), said: “It’s absolutely disgusting that in the past few days a number of students have reported instances of women being spiked on nights out.”
Sarah Crew, temporary Chief Constable for Avon and Somerset Police who leads the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s (NPCC) work on rape and adult sexual offences, told the Commons Home Affairs Committee on Wednesday: “In terms of the injection spiking, I only became aware of that this morning so I know about the reports …
“I think it’s a fair assumption there may be a sexual motive in those, but there isn’t an indication.”
It is “difficult to make an assessment on that particular trend at the moment, in terms of the more general drink spiking we do know that that’s a problem,” she added.
Spiking drinks can lead to up to ten years in prison – or even higher if other offences like rape, robbery or another assault has taken place.
Victims say they have been pierced with a needle in their leg, hands, and back and woke up with no recollection of the night before, but with a pinprick mark surrounded by a giant bruise.
Durham Constabulary responds
Inspector Phil Carter, from Durham Constabulary’s Harm Reduction Unit, said: “We are aware of posts circulating on social media regarding spiking incidents involving injections, but so far have not received any reports of such incidents occurring in County Durham and Darlington.
“We understand the concerns that people – in particular, students – have around their safety and the night-time economy. We are committed to doing everything we can to make our county a safe place for everyone and are working closely with licensed premises, local authorities, Durham University, and students to help people stay safe.
“Drink spiking is a serious offence, and we will always take any reports of this type of crime seriously – if you believe you been a victim of drink spiking, report it to us on 101 or 999, and seek medical attention immediately.”
Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You can also follow our dedicated County Durham Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.
For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.
Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel