Rise in ‘needle spiking’ puts women in UK on high alert

Nottinghamshire Police gets 15 reports of alleged spiking with a sharp object in Oct.

Britain is increasingly feeling like a hostile place for women. There have been multiple reports of “needle spiking” — which involves an injection being administered to someone without their knowledge or consent, usually in a nightclub or bar setting — as opposed to the more commonly-known method of contaminating alcoholic drinks.

Zara Owen, a 19-year-old student in Nottingham, central England, said she woke up after clubbing with a “sharp, agonising pain in my leg” and “almost zero recollection” of the night before. She walked with a limp for the remainder of the day, she wrote on social media, before finding a “pinprick” and realising that she had been “spiked” by a needle that had pierced through her jeans.

Horrifying

Thankfully, she added, her friends — who had noticed her behaving strangely — helped her to return safely home.

“The fact that this form of spiking is happening is horrifying, with the memory loss it brought me,” Owen told The Washington Post. “What is supposed to be a fun night leads us to almost fear the unknown.”

Nottinghamshire Police said this week that it had received a total of 15 reports of alleged spiking with a sharp object since October 2, with the majority of reports made by females, in venues across the popular university town. Two men had been arrested so far on “suspicion of conspiracy to administer poison with intent to injure, annoy or aggrieve,” they added on Friday.

Cases have also been reported elsewhere in Britain, mostly among college students, in Glasgow, Exeter and Birmingham. The reported needle spiking incidents come after two high-profile murders of women on the streets, which have left Britain stunned.

Two men had been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to administer poison with intent to injure.

Concern expressed

The overall number of reported needle spiking incidents remains far below the number of drink spiking incidents thought to occur, and have not yet been linked to other crimes such as rape or theft, but police chiefs have been asked to urgently assess how widespread the attacks are around the country, while the home secretary has also expressed concern.