National Post (National Edition)
Halifax police panned for failing to track drink-tampering reports
HALIFAX • Halifax Regional Police are being criticized for not tracking drink-tampering incidents in the city, amid multiple reports of spiked drinks at downtown bars and an emergency room doctor who says it happens regularly.
Two women came forward this spring after they were allegedly slipped an unidentified substance at a packed cabaret, prompting several women to speak out about similar experiences: Blacking out after only a few drinks, sleeping long stretches and recalling nothing from the night before.
As the number of anecdotal cases involving socalled date rape drugs rose, a police spokeswoman said in April that drink tampering “is not something that we hear of often.”
In fact, a request under the Freedom of Information Act has revealed Halifax police don’t track drink tampering. Police were unable to provide statistics on drink spiking “due to not having the field” to compile reported incidents, Insp. Donald Moser said.
Tallying reports of drink tampering would require police to “read through individually” thousands of files, which could cost thousands of dollars, he said.
“It worries me very much,” said Dr. Sam Campbell, the chief of emergency at the QEII Health Sciences Centre Halifax Infirmary.
“I have the feeling it’s happening a lot, because many women say they hesitate to come to the hospital at all and even fewer would want to report it to police.”
Paige Fitzpatrick, who along with Brittany Bernard shared her experience of a suspected drink tampering incident in April, called it a shame police don’t keep statistics on drink tampering incidents.
“All of this is very overwhelming for Brittany and I and we are still trying to move past what happened,” she said in an email.
The story of the young women, accompanied by photos of them recovering in hospital, was shared thousands of times on Facebook. They reported the alleged crime to police — although it now appears their experience won’t be included in statistics.
There’s no uniform approach to tracking drink tampering incidents in Canada. Police departments contacted by The Canadian Press offered a variety of responses on whether they tracked drink spiking or could provide statistics.
Campbell said in some cases a woman will arrive unsure of what happened, and in other cases a mother will bring her daughter to the emergency department.
“The most common one I would say happens a couple of times a month is someone says, ‘I was at a bar and the next thing I know my friend had to carry me home, I don’t remember a single thing about it, I had been drinking but not nearly as much as I usually drink.’ ”