Essex Police received over 200 reports of spiking last year
It's a 43% increase on figures from 2020.
Last updated 27th Jan 2022
Essex Police received more than 200 reports of spiking last year.
They heard of 213 cases of clubbers being drugged in 2021, 64 more than the year before.
48 of last year's cases are currently under active investigation.
In 2020 the force received 149 reports of drink spiking, while in 2019 and 2018 the police recorded 190 and 171 spiking incidents.
The information comes from data published following a Freedom of Information request, which also shows that 154 of the victims in 2021 were women, while 46 of them were men.
Martha, a student from Essex, isn't shocked by the stats:
"That doesn't surprise me. I think most of us now realise, but particularly as young women, we're all aware of how high the risk of spiking is. Whilst awareness has gone up massively in the last few months, because so many more are getting reported, it's not a new threat."
She says it is a real concern:
"The first time I ever went clubbing was in Essex and my friend got spiked that night, so it's something I've always known was a concern - not just statistically, but from experience."
Martha thinks police and nightclubs should do more to combat the issue:
"Law enforcement haven't done enough, and part of that is because it's obviously a very difficult problem to solve. But I also think many of them haven't been taking the immediate steps - that's both a law enforcement and a club issue - so many places are barely searching guests or are doing very limited searching."
She hopes more will be done to help her and her friends feel safer on nights out:
"I know many people who have been more concerned about going out. Personally, it hasn't really affected me because this is something that we've known since we were teenagers was a risk, and I think it's something most young women are aware of, if not hyper aware of. I do think it's something that needs to be worked on."
A spokesperson for Essex Police said:
“These sorts of incidents are thankfully rare, but we will not shy away from tackling this issue and will do all we can to make public safety our priority.
“We encourage anyone who believes they have been spiked to contact us and we will robustly investigate each incident to identify and bring the perpetrator to justice.
“Our understanding is that victims of this offence may not feel unwell immediately and may not realise that they have been a victim of this crime.
“It is never the fault of a drink spiking victim and indeed our focus is on catching the perpetrators of this dangerous crime.”