A freedom of information request put in by The Argus revealed that 108 crimes were recorded between January 1 to October 31, 2021, by Sussex Police.

Between January 1, 2016, and October 31, 2021, a total of 473 incidents involving spiking have been recorded.

An Argus investigation has revealed the extent of drink spiking in Sussex

The offence of drink spiking does not have a specific Home Office crime code.

Therefore, the force created a search that looks for certain key words, such as “spiked” and “lacing”, contained within the Crime Summary, or Modus Operandi fields, within any recorded sexual offence or violent crime.

“Spiking” refers to when someone is given alcohol or drugs without their knowledge, usually in a drink.

A person may be spiked for the intent of stealing from the victim, assaulting them sexually or physically or as an attempted joke.

Of the 108 offences, 61 of the crimes were committed in Brighton and Hove and 90 of the victims from across the county were female.

"I soon realised I had been spiked"

Jess Gough-Cooper, a first-year student at the University of Sussex, was spiked at a nightclub in the centre of Brighton.

The 20-year-old said women are aware there is a “risk” involved in going out to bars and clubs, but its still something you “never expect to happen to you”.

She said: “I was dancing with a guy, and we were kissing and getting together a bit, and he asked if he could buy me a drink.

An Argus investigation has revealed the extent of drink spiking in Sussex

“We went to the bar together, got a drink and drank it at the bar. About 20 minutes later I started to feel really quite sick, and I hadn’t drunk that much.

“I soon realised that I had been spiked and before long I was pretty much unconscious, and I ended up going to the hospital with my friends.

“I think there’s a huge link between sexual assault and spiking. That’s been a really difficult thing to come to terms with because I feel like I personally would have been at huge risk of that if my friends hadn’t found me as quickly as they did.”

Literature student Jess said she did not report the incident to the police, or the nightclub, over fears her allegation would not be taken seriously.

“Victims will be believed”

In the five years up to October 31, just two people have been charged or summoned in relation to spiking incidents.

In the majority of cases, investigations were completed, but no suspect was ever identified.

Superintendent Nick Dias from Sussex Police acknowledged some victims are reluctant to report crime, but said the force is keen to increase “trust and confidence” so that more victims of spiking come forward.

An Argus investigation has revealed the extent of drink spiking in Sussex

He told The Argus: “We really need to increase the confidence in people to report. They can be assured that they absolutely will be believed.

“All crimes of this nature will be investigated, and we need to know where they are taking place so we can create an effective response.”

This comes months after Home Secretary Priti Patel asked police forces across the country to assess the scale of the problem of drink-spiking and the increase in reports of spiking incidents involving needles.

EXCL: Interviews with #Sussex university student Jess, who was spiked on a night out in #Brighton, and with @_theegalitarian and #Spike Report founders Elysia and Della - part of @LivMarshJourno's investigation into spiking in #Sussex pic.twitter.com/sHOw4sxTwB

— Brighton Argus (@brightonargus) January 15, 2022

In the seven days up to October 26, six women reported being injected while on nights out in Brighton.

Superintendent Dias said the force is investigating all reports that have been made to it, but that the scale of the problem is likely to be “much bigger”.

He said: “There are challenges to investigating offences of this nature. A lot of them are reported after the fact, unfortunately.

“We’ve got a real push on making sure that if someone feels like they are a victim of crime at that time, or they are with anyone they think may have been a victim of that crime, they report it then and there so we can provide an initial and enhanced response to make sure they are safeguarded.

“But also, the licences premises have been given guidance on how to best secure evidence because it is more challenging to go back after the fact to look at things like CCTV.

“A lot of the more recent offences are still under investigation, and we are exploring every line of enquiry we can to bring any offenders to justice.”

Superintendent Dias said the force are determined to secure justice for the victims of spiking and that it is working to improve its conviction rate.

Jail for rapist who spiked woman’s drink

In 2019, 30-year-old former hairdresser Adem Gokgoz was found guilty of drugging a 21-year-old woman at a club and then raping her at a flat in Eastbourne, during a retrial at Lewes Crown Court.

He was tried in his absence after fleeing the country and found guilty in 2017 and faced an 11-year prison sentence.

But due to technical problems with Randox Laboratories, which did the forensic toxicology tests, the conviction was considered unsafe.

The Court of Appeal ordered a retrial. The retrial upheld the conviction.

Adem Gokgoz was found guilty of drugging a 21-year-old woman at a club and then raping her at a flat in Eastbourne

Gokgoz had put GHB (Gamma-hydroxybutyrate), commonly referred to as a “club drug” or a “date rape drug” into his victim’s drink, in order to commit the rape in April 2014.

Speaking at the time, Detective Constable Lisa Wells said the victim felt “vindicated” by the trial.

A campaign has now been launched urging people to submit their experiences of spiking, which will be shared anonymously to help others.

“People aren’t going forward to the police"

The Spike Report, created by graduates Elysia O’Neill and Della Claydon, allows users to anonymously post their accounts of spiking online.

The form asks people to submit details including where the spiking incident happened, the date it occurred and the method, which is then published publicly.

Since it was created in October last year, the report, which forms part of social justice website The Egalitarian, has had more than 20,000 views and shared details of more than 200 spiking incidents.

An Argus investigation has revealed the extent of drink spiking in Sussex

Della said she wants Spike Report to embolden victims to tell their stories without fear or repercussion and provide people with a tool to check a venue’s history before going on a night out.

She said: “The fact that people are just looking at the site means its being used for its purpose.

“People may consider going on a night out and decide to search the venue to see if any spiking has been reported and make a decision about where they might go.

Elysia O’Neill and Della Claydon, founders of The Egalitarian and The Spike Report

“We don’t want people to have to think about how drunk they might get when they go out or consider what they might wear.

“We want people to go out and have fun and we want the information that we share to help provide the information they need to keep them safe.”

Elysia said there is reluctance among victims of spiking to inform the venue and the police due to a fear that they will not be believed.

She said: “Venues are the first port of call, and if it isn’t taken seriously there, it’s more likely to stop people from then going to the police.

“It’s not even just the fact that it’s an inherently difficult crime to prosecute, people aren’t going forward to the police in the first place.”

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