Police have launched an anti-spiking operation to coincide with the influx of students back into York.
Officers will be involved in covert tactics to “detect and deter predatory behaviour”.
North Yorkshire Police’s Spiking Intensification Week will see students given information safety and advice to coincide with Freshers’ Week.
Police say spiking is widely believed to be an under-reported crime.
Nationally there are 561 reports a month. But in a YouGov poll from the same period, 10% of women and 5% of men said they had been spiked.
At the moment, spiking is prosecuted under several offences, but new legislation is that treats spiking as a standalone offence will come into effect this autumn.
Police also issued a warning about self-testing spiking kits. “They can indicate a false sense of security by marking a drink as ‘safe’ even though it may have been spiked with a drug that the kit cannot detect,” a North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said.
Inspector Andy Godfrey, from North Yorkshire Police’s local policing support said: “Spiking is a sickening crime which can have significant and traumatic impact on victims and leave them feeling unsafe for many years.
“It is a complex and challenging offence to investigate. Drugs pass through the system quickly, which is why early reporting and testing is so important.
“Between May 2022 and April 2023, the police nationally received 6,732 reports of spiking.
“However, we believe it is an under-reported crime, and more data is required to give a truer sense of the issue.
“To be clear, spiking is not always linked to sexual assaults. But whatever the intention, the outcome is leaving women in particular feeling vulnerable and unsafe when on a night out.
“This situation is unacceptable and that’s why North Yorkshire Police and other forces from around the country are focused on tackling spiking.”
Insp Godfrey added: “Through close coordination with our Licensing Team, Community Safety Hubs, the Alcohol Education Trust, and representatives from universities and colleges in our area, we are working proactively within the night-time economy to raise awareness of spiking and preventing it.
“The Licensing Team is also conducting ‘secret shopper’ activity in licensed premises to check venues’ procedures around spiking and vulnerability, including the ‘Ask for Angela’ advice given to victims to seek help from bar and security staff to escape from potentially threatening situations.
“We are also deploying covert tactics to detect and deter predatory behaviour and safeguard victims from harm.”
You can find out more about spiking, how to report the crime and where to get help, on the North Yorkshire Police website.
