Spiking to become a criminal offence in Northern Ireland
Spiking a drink is to become be a offence in Northern Ireland under new measures being brought into force by Justice Minister Naomi Long.
It comes with the introduction of legislative consent motions which will see new offences and amendments to offences in Northern Ireland.
As a result, some provisions of the Crime and Policing Bill will now be extended to Northern Ireland.
The Justice Minister said: “Spiking is a despicable act that leaves victims feeling violated, vulnerable and confused.
"Whilst spiking can happen to anyone, it is predominately an attack against women and girls, and one which often goes unreported. I hope by making spiking an offence, it provides additional reassurance and protections to women and girls and will give victims the courage to report attacks to the PSNI.”
Minister Long has brought forward a legislative consent motion in the Assembly which will see provisions for Northern Ireland included as part of the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament.
The wide-ranging Bill supports the delivery of the UK Government’s Safer Streets Mission to halve knife crime and violence against women and girls in a decade and increase public confidence in policing and the wider criminal justice system. It gives police further powers to tackle anti-social behaviour, crime and terrorism.
As well as the creation of a new spiking offence, other measures to be extended to Northern Ireland include the offence of cuckooing – where criminals take over the home of another person without their consent to use it for specified criminal activity.