Drink spiking Sheffield: police 'alert' to danger of women being injected on nights out

There have been numerous reports of women having their drinks spiked at bars and clubs around the city in recent weeks.

Concerns have now been raised nationally about so-called injection spiking, where victims are directly injected with a needle rather than the drug being placed in their drink.

South Yorkshire Police’s Sheffield City Centre team said there had so far been no reports of such attacks in Sheffield but officers were ‘alert’ to this new tactic being used by offenders elsewhere.

Writing in the team’s latest newsletter, Inspector Ali Bywater said: “You will no doubt have seen a heightened media interest this week in spiking incidents and a newly identified modus operandi which involves some victims being injected with a needle in order to debilitate them.

“To reassure you, there have been no reported cases of this nature in Sheffield but we are now alert to this MO moving forwards.

“Our jointly owned plan with CID, licensing and other partners continues to be implemented around this issue. We have good relationships with our local licensed venues and our licensing teams are in constant contact with their management and staff.

“We continue to work in partnership with them to ensure that any incidents are reported to us promptly and action is taken. We take all reports of this nature seriously and would urge anyone who has been the victim of drink spiking to report it to us straight away to enable swift action and identity of offenders.”

In September, Sheffield’s district commander, Chief Superintendent Shelley Hemsley said there had been a ‘number of reports’ of drink spiking linked to sexual assaults on vulnerable young women in Sheffield, predominantly in the city centre.

Last week, people boycotted clubs and bars across the country as part of the Girls Night In protest demanding more action to prevent drink spiking and help women feel safe on a night out.

The University of Sheffield’s weekly ROAR club night at the Foundry was cancelled last Wednesday after a petition was launched following complaints about drink spikings and sexual assaults allegedly linked to the event.