New test kit could identify hotspots in Dumfries and Galloway for drink spiking
This is to be made available in pubs and clubs and can help lead to quicker convictions.
Last updated 7th Mar 2025
There has been a major breakthrough for drink spike prevention – a new testing kit is to hit Dumfries and Galloway pubs soon, which will be able to detect if someone’s drink has been spiked and with what drug(s).
It is a similar procedure to taking a Covid test except you stick it in your drink rather than up your nose.
Two lines will appear on the cassette identifying if drugs are present and if so which ones.
This will save crucial times for emergency services as the testing can be carried out by bar staff and will only take a couple of minutes to determine results.
Police can also make faster convictions and paramedics can treat the victim quicker.
Troy Stewart is Director at Sure Screen Diagnostics which introduced the kits in Australia.
Once these are in place, he hopes this will make reporting incidents easier by giving women and patrons a sense of empowerment.
He says over time, it will help with investigations:
“It creates data after future reporting so we can identify hotspots, trends, what substances are being used in different locations, so I definitely think it will make a massive difference.
“It will identify the substance in the beverage, for example, GHB or benzodiazepines, so that way, it will help enhance emergency responders but also at the same time advance police investigations which I think is key here.”
Moffat man Colin Mackie is co-founder of Spike Aware UK. He set up this charity after losing his son Greg a few years ago.
Stewart has been working closely over the last month with Mackie on this new innovative idea and is keen to promote it and see it UK-wide to save more lives. Mackie says:
“Currently, the police have to wait until there are blood or urine tests, but this is going to open the door. If you can check this at a bar and find out that someone has been spiked, immediately the landlord can check CCTV or anything else and see who was around the table, who was around the area.
“The test is going to tell you what the drug was, which is going to give the emergency services a head-start right away. They know what they’re looking at, they know how they’re going to treat that rather than someone being taken into A&E where they’d have to do all these tests to try and work out what the person has been spiked with.
“The time the police come in the evidence is gone, so hopefully this is detected immediately, even though the person could be on their way to hospital, this drink check could have already detected what has happened and with the CCTV facilities, you may be able to see who was in the area at the time.”
Stewart gives an example of what would happen if someone who thinks they’ve been spiked approaches a member of staff:
“The drink would be tested and if it was a positive, then the credentials of the alleged victim would be taken and so would a photograph of the test device.
“The beverage sample and the glass would be put in the fridge until given to the police who will take it for secondary confirmatory lab testing just like they do with roadside breathalyse testing.”