Spiking in Manchester increased by over 600% in 2021

Spiking in Manchester increased by over 600% in 2021
Last year saw a sixfold increase of spiking incidents reported to Greater Manchester Police than 2020, new data obtained by a Freedom of Information request shows.

There has also been an increase in spiking by needles, with a total of 79 reported incidents as opposed to 2019 and 2020 both only seeing 6 incidents.

One explanation for this could be the Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020, however there is still a 418% rise from 2019, which had no lockdowns.

The figures show consistently show that there were over 200% more women spiked than men last year.

One victim, a Manchester student who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “It was really, really scary- I didn’t go out for about two months afterwards.

“I’m epileptic as well so I was worried I could have gone into a seizure.

“Luckily, I had good friends around me who made sure I was safe.”

Spiking can have enormous effects on victims- the trend of injecting

unsuspecting people particularly as unsterile needles is extremely dangerous.

Another student who also wants to remain anonymous told of how she was unknowingly injected with a drug and began to throw up blood while having to spend the evening in Hospital.


She says she will have to have her blood tested every three months for the foreseeable future as many illnesses that are transmitted through dirty needles can remain dormant in the body.

Anti-spiking methods are becoming more and more popular across the country as people try to keep themselves safe.

When asked about protocol around spiking, Curtis, who is the assistant manager at popular city centre hotspot Revolution de Cuba, said: “First of all we look at what has happened, maybe have they left their drink unattended and then consumed the drink after it, who was around them, what are the circumstances?

“If it gets to the stage where they have consumed what they believe is illicit then we have to just monitor them and suggest they seek medical attention.

“It happens quite often that the person is unconscious or not fully capable of looking after themselves, in which case there might be a friend on hand and if there’s not then we will look after them as best we can and cater for them and seek medical attention.

“For us it’s more about prevention and care, you know we’re not qualified medically but we do everything we can.”

Revolution de Cuba, located on Peter Street and also known as Revs, also have preventative steps such as drink covers and ‘spikeys’, which are little bottle stops with a straw hole.

These methods are in place to help prevent people dropping drugs into drinks.

Similarly, Albert Schloss, which is also on Peter Street, said if they are alerted to a drink being spiked, they will swap the drink for the person and monitor their situation.

The bar checks their CCTV to try to get to the bottom of the incident and said: “It’s hard to see because its dark but we believe anyone who asks us for help, and we’ll do everything we can for them.”

There has also been an online push by websites and campaigns to help spot the signs of drink spiking.

SipChip is a portable drink tester which can be attached to keys, the back of a phone or simply left in a bag.

All it requires is drop from a drink on the testing spot and then to be left for 30 seconds- 3 minutes for the results to appear.

If two lines appear, the drink is safe but if only one line appears, the drink is spiked and should not be consumed.

Another safety product is the Nightcap – a scrunchie which contains a reusable drink cover.

While it can not help detect or prevent spiking, a personal safety alarm is also a viable option as it can alert people around to someone needing help.

Signs someone may have been spiked include loss of balance, feeling sleepy, nausea, vomiting, unconsciousness, visual problems and behavioural changes such as lowered inhibitions.

If someone has been spiked, they should seek urgent medical attention as the drug used may have dangerous side effects.

Drink spiking is a known method used by people committing sexual assault as it can make the victim unable to deny advances and also unable to fight off any attackers and so it should also be reported to the police.

Saint Marys sexual assault referral clinic offer a range of support services to people have been sexually assaulted.