There has been a lot of coverage in the news in recent months about the increase in reports of drink spiking incidents. Almost 200 drink spiking incidents have been reported to police forces across the UK over the past two months according to The Guardian. And with the night time economy still in a delicate state of recovery, ensuring customers can feel safe in their venues is increasingly becoming a priority for operators.
The free online Drink Spiking Awareness course aims to support operators in educating their teams and raising awareness of the signs someone has been spiked, what to do if someone reports that they suspect their drink has been spiked and the impact of drink spiking on victims.
Historically an issue with drink spiking incidents is that victims are usually also consuming alcohol, and symptoms can be mistaken for inebriation. This can be damaging for people who suspect they have been the victim of drink spiking because they may feel they won’t be believed or helped. By educating teams operators can help make their venues safe by informing teams how to correctly handle reports of drink spiking. That might include isolating the suspected drink to pass on to authorities or contacting the relevant authorities to help the victim. Team members will also learn to be vigilant and identify and report suspicious behaviour that they witness.
Ensuring your venue is as safe as possible for your customers is both your responsibility as an alcohol licensee and beneficial to securing the reputation of your operation. There are plenty of things that operators are doing to ensure the safety of their guests, including:
With reports of needle spiking incidents also featuring in the news, many operators are increasing bag searches on entry as a way to reduce the potential for drugs and other substances to enter the venue.
There are testing kits available that can be used to detect certain drugs. Although they don’t test for all drugs, advertising the availability of such kits can act as a deterrent to people who might seek to harm others in your venue.
Having a procedure in place to deal with suspected drink spiking incidents can be helpful for both your teams and your customers by giving clear guidance on how to handle reported incidents. Drugs in the body often become undetectable after a short amount of time, so keeping suspected spiked drinks for the authorities to test can he helpful in investigations. Similarly, your teams should know how to support the victim and how to report incidents.
Offering training resources can help your teams feel more confident in handling potential drink spiking incidents and be more vigilant in spotting suspicious behaviour. Promoting that your team members are trained can also offer reassurance to your customers.
As we enter the busy festive period now is an important time to consider how your venue will ensure the safety of guests and handle drink spiking reports. The free Drink Spiking Awareness course is a useful resource to share with your teams to raise awareness and open the dialogue around how to handle drink spiking in your venue.
If you’re interested in the free Drink Spiking Awareness course then you can contact your account manager to have it allocated to your teams on your CPL Learning platform and individuals can check out the course download on the website.
