SPIKING will become a new standalone criminal offence, prime minister Keir Starmer's office announced, as the British leader reiterated a vow to halve violence against women and girls.
Starmer will convene police chiefs, industry executives and transport bosses in Downing Street on Monday (25), when he will urge more collaboration "to keep women and girls safe", his office said.
It comes with longstanding fears about female safety in public places increasing in recent years, in part after serving police officers were convicted in several high-profile cases of the murder and rape of young women.
Police forces also recorded an increase in spiking incidents in 2021 -- which they say has since declined -- alongside a worrying new phenomenon of needle spiking.
That is where people are injected with sedatives and other drugs intended to make them lose consciousness in places like nightclubs.
Spiking is currently prosecuted in England and Wales under various existing laws, some dating back to 1861.
Starmer had vowed to create a specific new offence if his Labour Party took power in July's general election, which it went on to win convincingly.
"My government was elected on a pledge to take back our streets, and we will never achieve this if women and girls do not feel safe at night," he said in a statement.
"Cracking down on spiking is central to that mission."
Starmer, a former chief prosecutor, noted that it can be difficult for victims to come forward to report spiking crimes, while cases can be "very hard" to prosecute.
"We must do more to bring the vile perpetrators who carry out this cowardly act, usually against young women and often to commit a sexual offence, to justice," he added.
The new offence will "send a clear signal that this is a crime, and perpetrators should feel the full force of the law," his office said.
The move, part of a multi-pronged strategy to tackle the problem, will also encourage more victims to report offences and give them greater confidence in the justice system, it added.
Other measures will include training thousands of staff working in the nighttime economy on how to spot and tackle spiking.
Police received 6,732 reports of spiking in the year ending April 2023, 957 relating to needle spiking, according to the latest government figures available.
However, under-reporting is believed to mask the scale of the problem.
A YouGov poll in December 2022 found 10 per cent of women and five per cent of men said they had been the victims of spiking.
(AFP)
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Sunder Katwala