Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to make spiking a drink a specific criminal offence as he demanded joint action from police and hospitality chiefs to crack down on violence against women and girls (VAWG).
With Labour promising to halve VAWG in the next decade, the prime minister is calling chief constables, transport bosses and industry executives to Downing Street on Monday to urge a coordinated response to “bring the vile perpetrators to justice”.
Under government plans, by spring thousands of workers in the night-time economy will be trained on how to prevent spiking incidents, support victims and help collect evidence.
Labour pledged in its manifesto to introduce a new offence for spiking, but there was no detail in the King’s Speech this year about a specific crime – however, Sir Keir reaffirmed his commitment on Monday, saying: “I made a promise that, if elected, I would make spiking a new criminal offence. Today, I am proud to have come good on that pledge.”
It is unclear when the legislation will be introduced, but ministers and officials are understood to be working to bring it forward as soon as possible – with Sir Keir promising “to take back our streets” from criminals.
The government announced that 10,000 workers in the hospitality industry will be trained to deal with incidents by next spring as part of an expansion of a scheme piloted from December.
Labour says the proposals are part of the party’s promise to halve VAWG in the next decade – although home secretary Yvette Cooper did admit the pledge is “ambitious” and that the government has not worked out how to measure their progress as she laid out a string of reforms to overhaul policing at an annual summit with police chiefs last Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Sir Keir will hear from police and industry leaders at talks in Downing Street on Monday about tactics already being used in response to the issue.
Plain clothes officers are being deployed in areas around bars and clubs to spot predatory behaviour, with Chief Constable Jason Hogg of Thames Valley Police due to tell the meeting how his force is implementing such measures.
Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi of British Transport Police will highlight the relaunch of the text-to-report number, 61016, which is free across all major networks and invites women to contact the force for help in the event of harassment on the train.
Other figures attending the meeting include Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality and chair of the Institute of Licensing, and Chief Constable Maggie Blythe, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for VAWG.
Sir Keir said: “My government was elected on a pledge to take back our streets, and we will never achieve this if women and girls do not feel safe at night.
“Today, I will bring together police chiefs, heads of industry and transport bosses to demand coordinated action to stop women being targeted, whether they are out with friends or simply travelling home.
“Cracking down on spiking is central to that mission.
“We know it can be incredibly difficult for victims to come forward to report this awful crime, and these cases can be very hard to prosecute. We must do more to bring the vile perpetrators who carry out this cowardly act, usually against young women and often to commit a sexual offence, to justice.
“That is why I made a promise that, if elected, I would make spiking a new criminal offence. Today, I am proud to have come good on that pledge.”
Home secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Spiking is a disturbing and serious crime which can have a damaging and long-lasting impact on victims.
“That’s why today we are taking decisive action to prevent this devastating crime and to crack down on perpetrators, by introducing a new criminal offence for spiking and launching specialist training for thousands of bar staff nationwide.
“People shouldn’t have to worry about the safety of their drinks on a night out. These changes are about giving victims greater confidence to come forward, and ensuring that there is a robust response from the police whenever these appalling crimes take place.”