561 Spiking Incidents a Month in England and Wales but Government Says No Need for New Offence

The government says spiking—often linked to sexual offences against women—is a major problem but has stopped short of introducing a specific new offence.

A warning notice on the window of a pub in Greenwich, London on Oct. 1, 2023. Yui Mok/PA Wire

The police in England and Wales receive 561 reports a month of people having their drinks spiked—mainly in pubs and nightclubs—as the government set out a range of measures to combat the menace, stopping short of creating a specific new criminal offence.

The Home Office said its latest data, published on Monday, showed there were 6,732 reports of spiking between May 2022 and April 2023 in England and Wales.