Home Secretary visits Sussex during Anti-Spiking Intensification Week

This week marked Anti-Spiking Intensification Week where police forces and partners unite to increase resources to tackle spiking.

Spiking can take on many forms: from unwanted substances added to drinks, vapes or cigarettes; to needle spiking and adding an extra shot of alcohol to a drink without consent.

Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne and the Force already have robust methods of protecting residents especially those enjoying the night-time economy. Home Secretary, James Cleverly MP visited the county to see what is working well here.

The visit began in Crawley town centre where Mr Cleverly met a team of local officers to hear about the pro-active work they do to make the night-time economy safer. The Sussex Police engagement van and Crawley Police Hub have been providing a friendly and safe space for public engagement where people can talk to officers and get helpful advice including on spiking and accessing services for victims of crime on our Safe Space Sussex website.

Over 250,000 branded anti-spiking StopTopps have been handed out to clubs, pubs and night-time economy venues across Sussex. They feature a QR code to direct people to the Safe Space Sussex website for more information about victims’ services and, thanks to the demand for them, they have a further 250,000 available for distribution.