‘We believe you’: Drink spiking incidents spark major crackdown in Queensland
Police hope the new approach will encourage more victims to come forward.
Queensland Police have unveiled a major crackdown on drink spiking, with detectives now investigating every reported incident in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley.
It is hoped the detective-led approach will reassure victims they will be taken seriously, with police hoping the change will encourage more people to report suspected drink spiking and improve the chances of catching offenders.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Queensland Police launch drink spiking crackdown
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Former detective sergeant Peter Maroney told Sunrise on Monday the new approach sends a clear message to victims that police will take every report seriously.
“We believe you, we will look at it and we will spend time and effort and resources to look into the spiking incident,” Maroney said.
Maroney said the reassurance is crucial because many victims never come forward, making it difficult to truly measure the true scale of the crime.
“One of the hardest things is there’s so little statistics, and sometimes a lot of victims are unwilling to come forward,” Maroney said.
“However, if you turn to social media, you know, talking through friends and the chatter line, it is a lot more frequent than I think a lot of parents particularly would realise that’s occurring.”
Maroney warned drink spiking is not limited to alcoholic beverages, with water and soft drinks also reportedly being targeted.
He urged people to never leave drinks unattended, stay with trusted friends who can watch each other’s drinks, and avoid accepting drinks from strangers.
If someone suddenly begins feeling unwell or experiences unexpected side effects, Maroney said they should seek help immediately.
“If you start to feel some side effects and you are on your own, for example, get to the bar staff as quickly as you can or the bar manager and report to them what’s going on,” he said.
Disturbingly, Maroney said available data suggests some perpetrators spike drinks at random simply to observe the effects on unsuspecting victims.
It remains unclear whether other Australian states will follow Queensland’s lead by introducing similar detective-led investigations into reported drink spiking incidents.
Originally published on Sunrise
