Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the prevalence of needle spiking.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The Home Office collect details of spiking incidents when they are recorded through the Home Office Data Hub and this information is provided by most forces in England and Wales.
Using these police recorded crime data the assessment is that during the third quarter of 2021/2022 there was a significant rise in people reporting to police that they suspected they had been the victims of spiking. During the first three quarters in 2022/2023 the levels of recorded crime that fall under the offences which cover spiking across England and Wales have reduced significantly, albeit they are demonstrably higher than they were in the period running up to Q3 2021/22.
I urge anyone who suspects that they have been spiked to contact the police.
The Home Office is leading the cross-government approach to understanding and tackling spiking. In 2021, the then Home Secretary asked the National Police Chief's Council to urgently review and coordinate the national policing response to spiking. Since then:
In December 2021, the NPCC established a rapid urine testing capability, which to date, remains the only accredited urine testing service which can later be “upgraded” for use in criminal proceedings.
The government position remains clear: off the shelf testing kits should not be used in isolation due to their unknown accuracy and the lack of any standardisation across the industry. If such test kits are used, we still recommend that individuals contact the police to submit a sample for processing through the rapid testing capability as soon as possible in order to receive the most accurate results and to help bring spiking offenders to justice.
Frontline police officers are trained to support victims when they report crime. All police forces receive regular updates from the National Police Chiefs’ Council spiking gold group. This helps to standardise procedures across England and Wales but provides forces with flexibility to adapt training to their local situation.
Through Safety of Women at Night Fund and the current (fourth) round of the Safer Streets Fund we have awarded funding for a range of initiatives to tackle drink spiking, including training for night-time economy staff, CCTV and street lighting and drink protectors.
The Security Industry Authority (SIA) has ensured that the training which door supervisors and security guards must undergo in order to obtain an SIA licence includes specific content on preventing violence against women and girls, and it is running campaigns to remind the industry and operatives of their role and responsibility in keeping people safe, with a focus on women’s safety.
The government also welcomes initiatives such as Ask Angela and Licensing Security and Vulnerability Initiative (LSAVI) and would encourage local areas or venues to consider how they can be used or replicated where necessary.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential benefits of requiring venues to declare publicly whenever an incident of drink spiking has occurred.
Answered by Sarah Dines
We are currently looking across the system to better understand how to respond to these crimes and provide the best support for victims.
All action carried out on spiking will be reflected in the statutory report, due to be published 28 April 2023
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle incidents of drink spiking in night clubs.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The government and law enforcement have been engaging with the industry on this issue since last autumn. Steps taken to tackle spiking include:
A full summary of the work carried out on spiking will be included in the statutory report due to be published 28 April 2023.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the recommendations made by the Law Commission in its report on Hate crime laws, published on 6 December 2021.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The Government is considering the Law Commission’s proposals carefully and will respond to the recommendations shortly.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Section 59 of the Police Reform Act as a deterrent for the use of off road bikes and four by four vehicles in instances of anti social behaviour.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The police have the power under section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 to seize vehicles, including off-road motorbikes and four by four vehicles being used in an anti-social manner.
Enforcement of road traffic law is an operational matter for the police.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an estimate of how many off-road (a) motorbikes and (b) cars have been involved in reports of antisocial behaviour in the last 12 months.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Home Office has not made an estimate of how many off-road motorbikes and cars have been involved in reports of anti-social behaviour.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of having a national standard for the reporting of anti-social behaviour.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Government is committed to tackling and preventing anti-social behaviour (ASB). We know the serious impact that persistent anti-social behaviour can have on both individuals and communities.
We monitor the national statistics on ASB through police recorded crime incident data and the Crime Survey for England and Wales, which presents people’s perceptions of levels of ASB. Given the localised nature of ASB, we do not currently plan to introduce a national standard for the reporting of ASB or create a national database.
We do, however, keep ASB under review through the Anti-social Behaviour Strategic Board which brings together a range of partners from key agencies and other Government departments to discuss ASB issues and share best practice. We have recently published multi-agency principles, endorsed by the Board, which seek to describe a consistent approach to addressing ASB in local communities and to ensure a strong and effective partnership response to anti-social behaviour, including local reporting and referral pathways.
Recommendations from Part Two of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Review were published on Monday 7 March 2022. The overall package strengthens and expands the role of PCCs. We want to ensure that PCCs have sufficient tools and levers to more effectively scrutinise and challenge partnership activity on ASB. To do this, PCCs should be able to bring partners together on ASB, direct local ASB strategy and request local data on ASB.