“The change in the law was largely driven by two decades of campaigning by Stamp Out Spiking Founder, Dawn Dines, who has been working with SafetyNet Chair, Poppy Murray, since 2021.” 

SafetyNet conducted a poll to find out the island’s appetite for change and discovered 99% of respondents would want Guernsey to follow the UK’s lead.  

“It’s incredibly encouraging to see that the UK has changed its stance on spiking and Dawn should be commended for her relentless efforts in achieving this. Unfortunately, the complexities of the current Guernsey law will, undoubtedly, be playing a role in the fact that there is a 0% conviction rate for spiking locally,” said Poppy. 

“I was not at all surprised that the respondents to our poll want to see Guernsey follow suit in modernising spiking laws. We know from talking to the public over the last two years that there is a lot of anecdotal evidence of spiking, and a clear frustration at the misconception that this offence does not happen locally.” 

Pictured: Poppy Murray.

SafetyNet points out that in the five-year period up to November 2023 there were 90 reports of drink spiking raised to police, with no successful convictions.  

“Although there are no confirmed cases of spiking locally, I have met with Guernsey Police and discussed some of the reasons for this, which include some substances only being traceable for a short period of time and a lack of education on what the public should do if they suspect they have been spiked. 

“SafetyNet has been approached with the argument that because there are no proven cases in Guernsey, spiking has never happened here. There are two prevailing views on the reason for Guernsey’s 0% conviction rate: either spiking is difficult to prove, or Guernsey is, for some reason, exempt from a crime that is committed globally. In my view, of the two options, it is much more likely that spiking is difficult to prove.”