Nottingham City centre is to have an increased police presence this weekend following an increase in cases of drink spiking – including reports of “spiking by something sharp”.
In a statement released on Wednesday evening (October 20), Nottinghamshire Police revealed they had received 44 spiking reports dating from September 4.
Twelve of these reports have alleged spiking by something sharp as opposed to a traditional method of contaminated alcoholic drinks. The first of these 12 were reported on October 2, 2021.
These figures have increased throughout October with the largest number of reports being made last weekend (October 15).
Police have been unable to narrow the reports down to a single hotspot in the city centre with alleged offences taking place at different venues on different days.
While the majority of reports being made to officers are from younger women, many of whom are students, there have also been reports of young men being potentially spiked too.
A 20-year-old man was arrested as part of a wider investigation into spiking after officers received a report of suspicious activity in Lower Parliament Street, Nottingham city centre, on October 16.
He remains on conditional bail and enquiries are continuing.
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Notts Police have announced more officers will be deployed to the city centre over the next few weekends and a dedicated team of detectives are investigating these allegations.
A planned operation with the force’s police dogs is also due to take place on Saturday (October 23) with officers patrolling the city centre streets and engaging with people enjoying a night out.
Superintendent Kathryn Craner, of Nottinghamshire Police, said in a statement that local residents and students in the city should be reassured that the force is working “incredibly hard” to investigate the reports.
She said: “Nottingham is a wonderful city and a vibrant place to come for a night out and we want people to experience the great night time economy that we have to offer not only to local people but also visitors from other areas.
“I understand that these reports and those from other cities are concerning but want to reassure people that we have been working with our partner agencies and licensed premises throughout the city to help tackle any reports of spiking.
“By taking a multi-agency approach and coming together to work on these reports we are able to use a vast amount of resources.
“As has been said, not only do we have a team dedicated to the investigation of these reports but members of the public can also expect to see many more officers patrolling the city centre during the night time economy.
“This is all designed to ensure that our local venues and people on a night out feel safe.”
She added: “It is vital that we investigate any reports as quickly as possible which means being able to secure evidence really quickly.
“This gives us the best chance of being able to progress our investigations.
“One of the really important messages for anybody coming into our city centre is that we need you or your friends to report any incident as soon as possible.
“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.
“There will be lots of officers in the city centre for you to report any concerns to but also we have trained employees at [the] majority of the venues in the city who you will be able to speak to as well.
“These employees will know what to do and how to get that report to us. I cannot overstate the importance of reporting as quickly as possible.”
The announcement from Nottinghamshire Police to have an increased presence in the city centre comes after Nottingham East MP Nadia Whittome wrote to Home Secretary Priti Patel on October 20 about the “alarming” rise in cases.
Nationally, more than 100,000 people have signed a petition calling on the Government to make it a legal requirement that people are searched before entering nightclubs.