How to report spiking to the police
If you or someone else is in danger right now
If you or someone else are injured, in immediate danger or you need support right away, call 999 now.
If you have a hearing or speech impairment, use our textphone service 18000 or text us on 999 if you’ve pre-registered with the emergencySMS service.
If you're in danger but you can't talk on the phone, you should still call 999, then follow these instructions.
Reporting spiking and spiking-related crimes, such as theft and sexual assault, can be daunting.
We're here to support you whether you're ready to report it to us or if you'd prefer to talk to someone else. We won't judge you, we'll treat you with respect, and we'll always put your health and wellbeing first.
You are not to blame for what happened to you. Spiking can happen to anyone anywhere – no matter their age, gender, sexuality or ethnicity. It can be carried out by strangers or by people you know.
Reporting it to the police
Report it online
You can report spiking online.
If you've been spiked and also assaulted or something has been stolen from you, you can tell us about everything that's happened at the same time. You don't need to report each thing separately.
We’ll treat your report with the same urgency as when you call 999.
Call 101
Our national non-emergency telephone number is staffed 24 hours a day. If it isn't an emergency, call us on 101 and report what happened or get some advice.
Visit a police station
If you’d like to speak to an officer in person, we can provide a safe and comfortable environment at any of our police stations.
If you need a translator, we can provide someone by phone to start with and later in person.
Find your nearest police station.
You can tell us about spiking-related offences too
If you report spiking to us, you can also tell us about any other offences that happened after someone spiked you. For example, sexual assault or theft.
Most cases of spiking don’t result in sexual assault or theft. But spiking is illegal and carries a prison sentence, even if no other offence took place. We take any report of spiking very seriously.
If you want to report it but not directly to the police
If you want to report spiking to us but you don't want to do it yourself, you can ask someone else to report it on your behalf.
If you're getting emergency treatment at a hospital or walk-in centre after being spiked, you can ask medical staff to report on your behalf.
Reporting anonymously
You can tell us about spiking without telling us who you are or giving us your contact details. These reports can help us stop people spiking in future.
We understand that you may prefer not give your name in your report or take part in an investigation. That's fine. Although it does mean that we may not be able to fully investigate. This is because we can't get back in touch with you to ask you more. It may also hinder our ability to find whoever spiked you. But you can always give us your details later if you change your mind.
You can also give information about spiking anonymously via the Crimestoppers website or by calling them on 0800 555 111. This is an independent charity.
Reporting to the police without taking part in a full investigation
You can report spiking to us and give us your details, but still decide not to take part in a full police investigation or prosecution in court. Once you have reported spiking, you can decide whether or not to give us a urine or blood sample for forensic testing.
Whatever you decide, we can still use any information you give us to identify patterns of spiking, locations or offenders and prevent it from happening again. Especially if you feel able to give us a formal statement.
Reporting on behalf of someone else, or as a witness
You can report spiking to us on behalf of someone else you know, or as a witness even if you don't know the victim.
If you make a report on behalf of someone else, we will ask you if they know you are making the report and if we can contact them. You don’t need their permission to make the report.
You can tell us about something that's happened to someone even if they and you don't want to give us their details.
Read more
Reporting spiking if you work for a venue or event
You can report spiking to us if you work for a venue or event. For example, a bar, club or festival. It doesn't matter if you don't have all the details of the spiking incident.
You can tell us about something that's happened to someone even if they and you don't want to give us their details.
If you report spiking to us, our investigation will focus on identifying who did it and bringing them to justice.
We'll also work with the venue to understand how this happened and how we can help them to stop this from happening again.
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No time limit to report spiking
We would like to know about any spiking incident, no matter how long ago it happened. There is no time limit to report spiking. It doesn’t matter if you can’t remember all the details or are not sure if there’s any evidence.
Even if this was months, years or decades ago, we would like you to tell us about it. We take every report seriously, no matter how much time has passed.
Getting tested
Getting tested can establish whether someone may have spiked you. The police can take a forensic test, but if you think someone has sexually assaulted you, a sexual assault referral centre (SARC) can also take these forensic tests, as well as giving you specialist support. The result of the test can be used in evidence if we identify who spiked you.
Some drugs leave the body within 12 hours or much sooner. If you report to us as soon as possible, we can take a sample that could be used for testing.
Other drugs stay in the body longer, so we might be able to test you up to seven days after the incident. But if someone spiked you more than seven days ago, we would still like you to report it. We may still be able to investigate and collect evidence.
If someone has spiked you with alcohol, there are other ways we can investigate what happened to you.
Read more about how we collect evidence
You can report spiking if you don't want to get tested
You can tell us about spiking even if you don't want to go through with forensic testing and an investigation.
Although forensic testing can tell you and us whether someone has indeed spiked you, you're in control. If you don’t want to give us a blood or urine sample for forensic testing, that's fine.
If you're not sure if you're ready to report spiking, we have put together information that might help you decide whether reporting is right for you.