What you need to know about spiking

What is spiking?

Spiking is when someone secretly gives you drugs or alcohol without your consent. This includes someone adding more alcohol to your drink without your knowledge.

Spiking can happen in a variety of different ways, through drinks, food, the use of vapes, and even needle spiking. All forms of spiking are illegal.

Spiking is a serious crime in the UK and can carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

What to do if you think you've been spiked

1. Tell someone you trust straight away: a friend, a member of staff or security.

2. Get yourself to a safe place and do not leave the venue alone or with a stranger.

3. Go to A&E or call 999 if you feel unwell or unsafe.

If you can, try to keep your drink. This can be helpful for the police when it comes to testing.

How do I report spiking to the police?

It can feel scary to report being spiked, but the police are there to help. They will ask questions to understand what has happened and may take a non-invasive urine sample. Some drugs leave the body quickly, so it’s important to provide a sample as soon as possible. However, it is still important to report spiking even if some time has passed.

You can also report spiking online via police.uk:

Common spiking myths busted

• Reporting spiking to the police - You might worry about reporting spiking to the police if you have drugs in your system, but this is not a criminal offence and should not stop you from reporting it.
• The substances involved in spiking - Spiking does not only involve so-called “date-rape drugs”; it most commonly involves alcohol or other drugs such as cocaine or ketamine.
• Spiking and sexual assault - Although spiking is sometimes linked to sexual assault, this is not the case in most incidents.
• Do not rely on drink-testing kits - they can be unreliable and do not detect a full range of drugs. Seek professional testing through the police instead.
• Regardless of the circumstances, spiking is a crime and should always be reported.

👉 For more information on spiking, visit police.uk.

👉 For more information on the support services available to you at UAL, read this article.