Drink Spiking numbers

Summary

The Isle of Man Constabulary responded to a request for statistics on drink spiking reports over the last decade, disclosing data for the six-year period from April 2012 to April 2018 based on keyword searches.

Key Facts

• Searches covered incidents reported since September 2012, focusing on keywords 'drink' combined with 'spike', 'spiking', 'lace', or 'lacing'.
• No results were found containing the specific combination of 'lacing/laced' and 'drink(s)'.
• False hits were manually removed where 'spike' referred to a hairstyle rather than drink tampering.
• The highest number of reported cases occurred in the 2017-2018 period with 11 incidents.
• The Constabulary provided safety advice for the public regarding drink spiking prevention and response.

Data Disclosed

• 2018-09-19
• 2018-09-25
• September 2012
• 0
• 1
• 5
• 6
• 9
• 2
• 7
• 11
• 608665

Original Request

How many reports have there been to the police, including both the words 'drink' and 'spiking' or 'lacing'? How many cases have there been reported each year, in the last 10 years? (Could be included in last question but...) what is the total number of cases recorded by forces/officers which responded?

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Isle of Man Constabulary Freedom of Information Department of Home Affairs Headquarters Tromode Road, Douglas Isle of Man, IM2 5PA Tel: +44(0)1624631394 Email: Mark.Britton@gov.im Our ref: 608665 25 September 2018

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 19 September 2018 and which states:

"How many reports have there been to the police, including both the words 'drink' and 'spiking' or 'lacing'? How many cases have there been reported each year, in the last 10 years? (Could be included in last question but...) what is the total number of cases recorded by forces/officers which responded?"

Our response to your request is as follows: I have detailed below the information that is being released to you. Information request Our reference: 608665 How many reports have there been to the police, including both the words 'drink' and 'spiking' or 'lacing'? • How many cases have there been reported each year, in the last 6 years? • What is the total number of cases recorded by forces/officers which responded?

Results Searches were made of incidents reported to Police since September 2012. In addition to searching for both ‘drink’ and ‘spiking’, or for both ‘drink’ and ‘lacing’ to appear in event remarks, further searches were carried out for both ‘drink’ and ‘spike’, and ‘drink’ and ‘lace’. Due to search algorithms used, searches for ‘spike’ / ‘lace’ would also return hits for ‘spiked’ / ‘laced’, and ‘drink’ would return ‘drinks’. Review was made to remove false hits where ‘spike’ mentioned only related to hairstyle of a person involved. No results were found to contain lacing/laced and drink(s). April-April Year Keywords 12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16 16-17 17-18 18-19 spike & drink 1 5 6 9 2 spiked 1 spiking & drink 1 1 1 1 Grand Total 0 1 1 6 7 11 2 The Constabulary offers the following advice: Any person who suspects their drink has been spiked to contact the police at the earliest opportunity.
There are some measures people can take to reduce the risk of this happening:- Never leave your drink unattended and keep an eye of your friend’s drink. Don’t accept a drink from someone you don’t know. Consider sticking to bottled drinks, avoiding punch bowls or jugs of cocktails, If you think your drink has been tampered with, don’t drink it – tell a trusted friend or relative immediately. Know your limits – do not drink to excess. If you are having an adverse reaction to a drink, seek medical attention immediately. Before going out, tell someone where you are going, with whom and what time you expect to be home. Make plans for your journey home.

Please quote the reference number 608665 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely