Police find no confirmed cases of spiking by injection in Scotland

There have been no identified cases of people being spiked by injection in Scotland, a senior police officer has said.

Police have found no evidence of spiking by injection

Investigations were launched after a surge in reports from people claiming to have been spiked with needles on nights out in clubs across the UK in September and October last year.

But Detective Chief Superintendent Laura McLuckie, who has been leading inquiries in Scotland, said officers have found no evidence to support the claims north of the border.

She said forensic analysis has so far found no traces of drugs used for spiking, and said the “significant increase in reporting” was the result of “the media and social media (prominence) that it was given at the time”.

Speaking at a Scottish Police Authority Meeting on Wednesday, Ms McLuckie said: “We’re only now starting to see the outcome of the forensic results, and I’m pleased to say that we’re not seeing any drugs within people’s systems that we would class as being a drug that would be used and spiking.

“There is clearly alcohol involved, there is clearly recreational drug use involved, however, we don’t have any identified cases of any spiking by injection and Scotland at this time.

“We will obviously continue to monitor that over the coming weeks and months.”

Police Scotland confirmed it received 51 reports of spiking by injection in Scotland between January and October last year.

In the same period there were 69 reports of drinks being spiked and 32 cases in which the method of drugging was unclear.

People who said they believed they were victims of spiking by injection spoke of “puncture marks” found on their body and a general feeling of being unwell.

Now, reports in the UK are on a “significant downward trajectory”, Ms McLuckie said and, in Scotland in the last week, no reports of spiking by injection have been filed.

But the officer did note this could be down to Covid rules being in place over the festive period and restricting access to nightclubs.

Katy MacLeod, of Scottish Drugs Forum, pointed to the possible challenges that arise when collecting evidence in relation to spiking by injection.

She said: “It is important to highlight that one of the effects of traumatic incidents on the brain is that they can impair our ability to file memories which can bring in significant challenges for people reporting and gathering evidence.

“It is fairly common that people report incidents a number of days or longer afterwards, which would make detection of substances challenging given some substances are out the system within 24 hours.

“New substances of concern do emerge so it is important to be vigilant and responsive to any new compounds that may be more easily administered and used in this way.

“Where new substances do emerge, we would typically see them in other settings in the community so therefore access to a range of drug-testing facilities is an important part of identifying any potential new trends.”

Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie from Police Scotland, who has been working with Ms McLuckie, said officers continue to investigate reports where people claim to have been spiked, be it in their drink, or by injection.

“Every report is and will be taken seriously and fully investigated and that will include a full forensic investigation when appropriate,” he said

“People should be able to go out for a night out without fear of being spiked.”

The sharp rise in reports of spiking, which predominantly happened during university freshers’ week, according to Ms McLuckie, prompted protests across the UK.

A petition calling for nightclubs to search people on entry gathered 174,000 signatures.

Instagram pages were also created to spread the news of the Girls Night In campaign, where women from various university cities stayed in, “spreading awareness and challenging clubs” to keep people safe.

A Scottish Government spokesman said “the act of spiking is utterly abhorrent” and ministers remained committed to working with partner agencies to tackle all forms of violence against women.

“We note Police Scotland’s work in this area and it is encouraging that forensic analysis so far has found no traces of drugs used for spiking in reported cases,” the spokesman said.

“Nevertheless we will continue to work with partners to strengthen our response to this issue and ensure that women who are out in the night-time economy feel safe and are supported to report, if something does happen. This includes increasing training on spiking for both police officers and night-time industry staff and continuing to implement our Equally Safe Strategy.”