Police use digivan to engage with young people as part of new project to combat spiking
Scores of young people and members of the public have been spoken to with the help of a digivan to raise awareness of spiking, encourage reporting of incidents, and offer safety advice.
Officers travelled to different areas to raise as much awareness of the crime as possible to remind people how they can stay safe, educate people on what they should do if they, or a friend, are spiked, and how they can report incidents and then get a test kit.
With a digivan playing a video about spiking, aimed specifically at young people in the city, officers visited Old Market Square on Friday (20 March) before engaging with members of the public outside Nottingham’s Theatre Royal.
Officers also went to areas popular with students in The Arboretum and in Lenton, to interact with as many people as possible.
The awareness-raising work will also include deployments of the digivan in key locations including Mansfield and Bassetlaw.
Last year a total of 140 spiking offences were reported to Nottinghamshire Police - an increase on the 124 reports we received during 2024.
Most victims were young women, with the majority of whom were aged 18-21. We also received reports of young men being spiked too.
To help tackle spiking, Nottinghamshire Police has been chosen to take part in a Home Office pilot initiative focused on increasing intelligence around this crime, improving victim reporting, and providing reassurance to victims.
If people report spiking offences to police, they will always be able to get a dedicated urine sample testing kit.
From 1 April, as part of the pilot, police will also be joining up with partner agencies as part of a new testing scheme, which is running for three months, to ensure more people have the confidence to report suspected spiking incidents and to reassure those who believe they may have been spiked.
As part of this Home Office initiative, to make people feel more comfortable, multi-drug urine testing kits will be available from numerous partner venues, not just from the police, including local hospitals and health centres.
DCI Chris Berryman, Nottinghamshire Police’s spiking lead, said: “While we are always working to prevent and reduce incidents of spiking, by participating in the Home Office pilot and collaborating with our partners, we will be making testing kits even more accessible to victims to provide them with reassurance.
“It demonstrates our commitment to tackling spiking and ensuring that people on a night out feel safe and get the support they need.
“I want to reassure people that we take spiking reports seriously. We won't judge you, we'll treat you with respect, and we'll always put your health and wellbeing first.
“If you believe you have been spiked, feel you have been spiked, suspect anybody else has been spiked or see any suspicious activity we need you to report that immediately.
"The sooner evidence can be collected, the greater the chance of identifying offenders and stopping them from harming others.”
You should always call 999 in an emergency.
Otherwise, victims can report an incident on 101 or here
For more details click here https://www.nottinghamshire.police.uk/ro/report/report-spiking/v2/report-spiking/