Garda research shows 90% of spiking victims were women

The study found six out of ten victims were in the 18-25 age group, with more than half of the incidents taking place in a pub or nightclub.

Reports of people being spiked — mainly their drinks or by needle jabs — reached a peak in 2022 after a sharp rise the year before, according to new Garda research.

The numbers fell after widespread publicity of the issue in 2023, but reported incidents last year were still the third highest on record.

Almost nine out of ten victims were female and a third of the cases of spiking were reportedly used to carry out a sexual assault.

The Garda research is thought to be the first the organisation has carried out into the phenomenon.

As 'spiking' itself is not a specific offence, the study required a manual examination of selected offences on the Garda Pulse system.

The study found six out of ten victims were in the 18-25 age group, with more than half of the incidents taking place in a pub or nightclub. Over a fifth happened at houses and apartments.

In half of all cases it was reported a drink was spiked, with a needle being reported in almost three out of ten incidents.

The research found:

• Reports of spiking incidents ranged from 11 in 2010 to 19 in 2020, before trebling to 61 in 2021 and rising to 107 in 2022, before dropping to 52 in 2023.
• Q4 (Oct-Dec) 2021 saw the highest quarterly, number with 46 reports, followed by 32 reports in Q1 2022, and 29 in Q4 2022;
• Highest number of incidents were recorded as ‘poisoning’ — 95 reports or 40% of the total;
• 78 (33%) of cases were recorded under ‘sexual offences’;
• 66 (22%) of incidents were recorded in the ‘assaults’ category 

Almost half of the cases (113) were in Dublin, a fifth (48) were in the Eastern region, 17% (40) were in the North Western region, and 16% (38) were in the Southern region.

The study said 31 charges have been brought up to January 2024, relating to 12 incidents.

The research was carried out by the Garda Síochána Analysis Service and involved a detailed examination of three crime categories — assaults, sexual offences, and poisoning — in the Pulse computer system between 2010 and 2023.

The report said that, in terms of the prevalence of spiking in the total number of crimes in those categories, spiking made up less than 0.5% of assaults and less than 1% of sexual offences, and 87% of poisonings.

Awareness campaigns

The sharp rise in reported spiking incidents in the latter part of 2021 led to a number of awareness campaigns in third level colleges, including one launched by then Higher Education Minister Simon Harris and Justice Minister Helen McEntee.

The Garda research said that 28% of the reported incidents of spiking involved needles, with 40% of the cases referring to drinks being spiked.

Images of people reporting needle or prick marks spread on social media in the latter part of 2021. There was some medical uncertainty on the matter, with some experts saying a person would need to be injected for a number of seconds for it to have a significant effect.

The Garda study said the “vast majority” of reports of needle spiking were in 2021 and 2022.

Fine Gael — which held the justice portfolio in the outgoing Government — has proposed a new offence of spiking in its election manifesto.

The British Government is planning to introduce a specific offence of spiking.