POLICE figures have revealed a rise in spiking incidents – with children as young as 12 among the victims. 

The data, released through a Freedom of Information request to West Yorkshire Police, paints a worrying picture at a time when major concerns have been raised at a national level, particularly amid fears of ‘spiking by injection’. 

It hit close to home in the Bradford district in recent weeks, when police swooped on Bingley town centre to reports of potential drink/needle spiking incidents at Maverick’s bar on Main Street.

A Section 60 order was put in place to allow officers to stop and search people at the premises.

While West Yorkshire Police said further enquiries established that no-one had fallen victim to spiking on that occasion, figures show that spiking is happening in the region.

Almost 30 per cent of cases recorded since 2018 have been linked to sexual offences.
In 2018, 109 crimes were recorded and 34 were linked to sexual offences. This jumped to 141 in 2019, with 46 linked to sexual offences.

There was a fall in 2020 to 83, the likely explanation being the Covid-19 pandemic, of which 21 were linked to sexual offences and then a rise to 123 by October 24 this year, with 32 linked to sexual offences. 

The data shows just four people have been charged or summonsed. 

A separate FOI also shows how young some victims are. Last year, 20 victims were under the age of 18 and 10 were under the age of 16, with the youngest just aged 12. 

A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said the issue of drinks spiking is one which the Force “has been alive to, recording and investigating” for a number of years.

They added: “Offending can take place against women and men in a wide variety of scenarios including domestic situations in which an attempt is made by a person to harm another known to them, and in the nighttime economy.

“This kind of offending in the night-time economy has of course come to prominence as part of the wider debate around violence against women. The issue of women’s safety is rightly a key national and local issue and we do understand the genuine safety concerns that women have.”

They added that the specific offence of ‘spiking by injection’ is a new phenomenon and such offences “remain extremely rare” in West Yorkshire.

“All offences of spiking that have been reported are recorded as a crime in line with the force’s crime recording policy and then investigated,” the spokesperson added.

“West Yorkshire Police has been working closely with fellow agencies including NHS colleagues, the wider public health arena, and local authorities to better understand offending, including spiking by injection, and pursue available investigative opportunities.

“Crimes recorded are of course subject to further investigation, reclassification, and cancellation, and may therefore change over time.

“We also of course continue to work alongside partner agencies and licensees to advise users of the night-time economy about the issue and remain absolutely committed to doing everything we can alongside our partners to make the county a safer place.

“Crimes relating to sexual offences are taken very seriously by West Yorkshire Police.

"Specially trained officers are responsible for the investigation of these offences and are situated within both District Safeguarding Units and Protective Services (Crime), a specialist department which deals with complex investigations.

“All investigations involving victims of sexual offences, regardless of the age of the person responsible, are dealt within a multi-agency setting, involving our statutory safeguarding partners. This approach allows not only for an effective investigation but ensures appropriate safeguarding measures are considered for any person deemed to be at risk.”