The government has announced that it will amend the Criminal Justice Bill and update the Offences Against The Person Act 1861 to clarify that drink spiking is illegal.
This comes as statistics show that spiking cases have risen by 400% in the last five years.
“The government plans include several initiatives to raise awareness of spiking and how to deal with it, including training door staff to spot the signs of potential spiking, investment for research into spiking kits – which would allow real-time testing of drinks – the development of an online tool to enable easier anonymous reporting of alleged offences, and an update to the statutory guidance under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003,” said Sarah Taylor, licensing partner at Keystone Law.
“It is essential for operators to recognise the risks of spiking, implement measures to mitigate the risks, and to ensure that their staff are trained to spot the signs and to effectively deal with alleged incidents of spiking in a consistent and effective way.
“Operators have a duty to promote the four licensing objectives, and two of those are the prevention of crime and disorder, and public safety. Failure to do so can result in enforcement action being taken by the authorities, and a premises licence may be at risk if there have been multiple allegations of spiking at the premises and the incidents have not been dealt with effectively.”
