Week of action sees special patrols to prevent drink spiking

High-visibility nighttime patrols hit the streets at the weekend to raise the profile of drink spiking.

Uniformed officers patrolled key areas in York city centre and used an eye-catching ‘digivan’ – a vehicle with a large digital billboard – to share information about what to do if you’ve been spiked.

It was one of a series of deployments under Operation Lester – a week-long spiking awareness campaign.

We also handed out cards containing information and a survey during nighttime patrols across the county, including in Scarborough and York on Friday and Saturday night. And plain clothes operations have taken place in key areas to ensure people stay safe during the first weekend of freshers’ week.

Throughout last week, we also attended freshers’ fairs at colleges and universities, including Selby College (pictured).

And we worked with pub, bar and security businesses to help them test how staff respond to someone who reports that their drink has been spiked.

Inspector Danny Leach, who has co-ordinated the intensification week for North Yorkshire Police, said: “We’ve completed our intensification week to raise awareness around spiking. But in reality our work continues all year round.

“We know that spiking – when someone sneaks drugs or alcohol into your drink or food – is under-reported and many people don’t know the signs.

“So this week has been a big push to address that, especially with students across the county who may be away from home for the first time. Our officers have chatted to a huge number of people this week.

“By talking about the issue in this way, we’re showing people that victims can come forward with confidence, even if they have other drugs in their system, and they will be listened to and supported.”

North Yorkshire Police is running a survey to gather more information about spiking and hear people’s experiences.

It only takes a minute or two to complete and you can find it here: https://forms.office.com/e/KXgSnMCLf8

Nationally, around 590 spiking incidents per day are reported to the police.

They often include drugs like MDMA/ecstasy, ketamine or LSD being slipped into someone’s drink or food. Strong alcohol is also sometimes used.

While there are sometimes clues your drink has been spiked, like a cloudy appearance or a bitter taste, in reality it’s often hard to tell by taste or sight. The first sign can be feeling unusually disoriented and drowsy.

Sometimes spiking is used before other offences, such as sexual assaults or robberies. But in the majority of reported cases, the only offence was spiking – no secondary offence was reported.

You can find more information about spiking at www.northyorkshire.police.uk/spiking