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Guernsey Police say there is no “concrete evidence” of people’s drinks being spiked with drugs, and that additional alcohol is more likely the cause.
10 poisonings were recorded in 2021, with none recorded the previous year. Not all these instances are necessarily related to drink spiking incidents.
Ruari Hardy, Head of Law Enforcement, told Express: “At the moment, the evidence we seem to see is that it is possible that people have had their drinks spiked with additional alcohol - but with regard to drugs that may be used to spike, we haven’t had any concrete evidence of seeing a specific drug being used”.
He added that Police fear “alcohol is probably the primary cause of vulnerability”, particularly within sexual offences and consent.
“Some of our sexual offences, or allegations, are very much driven by victims being unable to consent through intoxication… quite rightly they should report that, and quite rightly we will investigate them.”
Listen: Express sat down with Mr Hardy to gather some insight on Bailiwick Law Enforcement’s 2021 report.
Mr Hardy said a new drink spiking testing regime is being used by authorities: “When anyone alleges that they have been through a drink spike, providing they are within the window that allows us to test, we do test”.
Guernsey Police previously told Express that tests can be administered by officers at the Police Station, or by the Force Medical Examiner at the hospital.
"According to The Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine, a blood test screening for drink spiking should be obtained within three days of the incident, and a urine sample within five days. The reliability of results can vary outside of these time frames,” said a spokesperson for the Police.
If something happens to you, call the Police on 01481 222 222 or make a report anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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