What happens first after you report spiking
| 1. Your account |
| 2. How we collect evidence |
| 3. Police support and communication |
This page is about what happens if you report spiking to the police.
If you report it to us online, your answers will be sent to our control room. We’ll treat them the same way as if you'd phoned us.
If you report something to us anonymously (without giving us your details), we may still be able to investigate. But we won’t be able to give you updates on our investigation.
Your account
If you’re comfortable talking about what happened, we'll ask you to go over four main things:
- What happened?
- Where did it happen?
- When did it happen?
- Do you know who might have done it?
You might have already told us about some of these when you first reported to us. We realise it may be difficult to tell us about the same events more than once. But this is a normal part of the process, and it doesn't mean we didn't believe you the first time.
We will listen to you and take your report seriously. We won't judge you. You are not to blame for what happened to you.
We know you might not remember or understand exactly what has happened to you. That's okay.
How we collect evidence
Getting tested
After you report a spiking incident, we may ask you to give us a urine or blood sample for a forensic test. This can establish whether someone may have spiked you.
A forensic test means that we can use the result in evidence in court, if we identify and find who spiked them. Only the police can conduct a forensic test, unless you’ve been sexually assaulted and go to a sexual assault referral centre (SARC) where they can also take these forensic tests, as well as giving you specialist support.
Some drugs leave the body within 12 hours or much sooner. If you report to us as soon as possible, we can take a sample that could be used for testing. But many other drugs remain in the body longer, so we might be able to test you up to seven days after the incident.
The test we use is the most effective way of finding out whether someone has spiked you. It can detect over a hundred different types of drugs.
We'll visit you wherever you are
If you report spiking within this seven day time period, an officer will visit you wherever you are to provide you with a sterile container for the urine sample. They may have a doctor with them to take a blood sample.
Where possible, we'll do our best to send an officer appropriate to your gender, but we cannot guarantee this. Our priority is to get an officer to you as soon as possible.
If we send your urine or blood sample for testing, it can take several weeks for the results to be returned to us.
But if someone spiked you more than seven days ago, we would still like you to report it. We’ll still be able to investigate your case and crucially we'll be able to provide you with any support you may need. Your report may also help us to identify a pattern of spiking cases.
But although forensic testing can tell you and us whether someone has indeed spiked you, you're in control. If you don’t want to give us a blood or urine sample for forensic testing, that's fine. And you can tell us what happened to you without testing and an investigation.
If someone has spiked you with alcohol, there are other ways we can investigate what happened to you.
Other evidence
If there might be other evidence, we’ll ask you to preserve it if you can. This could include something that the offender might have left behind at the scene. For example, a glass or needle. This could help us prove what happened.
But don't worry if you don't think there's any evidence. You can report spiking and we might visit the location to check for CCTV footage and other evidence.
Read more about how we collect evidence
Police support and communication
After you've given us your account, trained officers will work on your case. They'll get you the help and support you need and investigate the case.
One of these officers should be your single point of contact with us. This means when you talk to us, it will usually be with this person. They'll explain what's happening at each step, answer your questions and keep you up to date.