What is drink spiking?Drink Spiking is the unlawful administration of a mind-altering substance into another persons drink. This does not have to be a ‘drug’ as such because alcohol itself has been unlawfully used in this manner for thousands of years. Neither is this ‘tactic’ solely confined to drink as it has also been used in food, and neither is the motive solely for sexual assault. The three most common reasons for spiking a drinks are:
Nevertheless the offence committed at the very least is under the Offences Against the Persons Act of 1861 of ‘unlawfully and maliciously administering a poison or noxious thing so as to endanger life or inflict GBH’ Just because it is an old Act doesn’t mean that it’s out of date. On the contrary, remember the saying ‘if the wheel isn’t broke don’t fix it’. This offence fits this situation very well, and the maximum penalty (and remember that some people do this just for a laugh) is 10 years Imprisonment And of course the penalties if sexual assault, robbery or theft are involved are even higher. Whilst this offence is mostly committed against women we wish to highlight that it is believed 11% of victims are male. Only 1:5 rapes are reported each year. With over 900 drink spiking incidents reported nationally during 2002, that means that there were possibly 4,500 of these offences actually carried out. It’s hard to judge. |
