The loophole in the Government’s drink-spiking law

Spiking - giving someone drink or drugs without their consent - is an awful crime. In the worst cases we know that it can kill, and sadly it is a tactic we know some criminals will use to rape or sexually assault their victims.

There is a big problem with the new law the Government is trying to pass to deal with this. A problem that could mean that some people could get away with it.

This week is National Spiking Intensification Week, where police forces across the country will have a particular focus on these crimes; but in Thames Valley that work continues all year round.

When we think of spiking it is often connected with sexual assaults, but sadly we’ve seen an increasing trend of “prank spiking”. Popping something in the drink of someone you know as a joke - but it can have fatal consequences.

A loophole in the law would mean that it could be a defence to say that it was just a prank, and you didn’t intend to cause any harm. Conservative MP Joe Robertson has tried to change this with an amendment to the Crime & Policing Bill; but despite cross-party support this change has been blocked by the Government.

The legislation is now in the House of Lords so there is still hope of getting the changes that are needed.

I continue to support Project Vigilant, the Thames Valley Police operation that focuses on keeping people safe on their nights out; and the Force have recently achieved a world first with drugs dogs trained to identify the most common date-rape drugs. 

But in addition to the great work by the police, we need the right legislation to tackle the dangerous trend of prank-spiking.