What is Spiking?

Spiking is when someone adds alcohol or drugs to your drink or body without your knowledge or consent. This could happen through drinks, injections, cigarettes, vapes, food or other methods.

Spiking is a criminal offence, even if no assault or attack follows. It is illegal whatever the intent. Spiking includes giving someone more alcohol or drugs than they agreed to—for example, giving a double instead of a single measure. Perpetrators can be strangers or people you know.

Local support is available from the Police, Street Marshalls, Women’s Night Safe Space and Angels of Freedom.

Know Your Rights

Everyone reacts differently. Signs of spiking can include:

Sudden confusion or feeling unwell
Vomiting
Hallucinations
Loss of balance or coordination
Blurred vision
Difficulty speaking clearly
Blackouts or memory loss

If you or a friend feel “off,” or just not right – ask for help immediately.

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Where to get help

In the moment:

Tell a trusted friend, venue staff, or security.
If you suspect your drink was spiked, keep the drink for possible testing – but do not drink any more of it.
Move to a safe space and ask for help contacting the police.
If someone becomes very unwell—vomiting, drowsy, or hallucinating —call an ambulance.
Local support is available from the police, Street Marshalls, Women’s Night Safe Space and Angels of Freedom, visit the Night Safe Leeds website for more information.

Know your rights

Afterwards:

Whether or not you report to the Police, support is available. Spiking can have long-term effects and you don’t have to face it alone.

Support is available 24/7 through your Local V ictim Support team who can help you to:

Understand your rights and the services you’re entitled to
Explore ways to cope
Connect you with services and support networks

Reporting to the Police

If you choose to report, the police may ask:

What happened?
Where and when did it happen?
Do you know who might have done it?

They may take a non-invasive urine sample as soon as possible. Some drugs leave the body quickly, but testing can still be considered up to 7 days after the incident.

You won’t get in trouble for having taken alcohol or drugs voluntarily – just let the Police know, as it helps with testing.

We encourage reporting to the Police to help tackle spiking for everyone.

Other ways to report

If you didn’t get the support you needed, you can also report to:

The venue where it happened
Leeds City Council Entertainment Licensing
SIA (Security Industry Authority) if it involves a security staff member

You can also anonymously share your experience using the WalkSafe app via the ‘how was your experience?’ feature.

Findings from our Spiking Report 2023

You can read the full Spiking Report here

Stop the Spike trained venues

These venues have taken part in DrinkSafe Spike Awareness Training and have been supplied with a stock of Anti-Spiking Drink Covers and Early Indicator Spiking Detection Test Kits.