CriminaLess CriminaLess Magazine IRENA RASHEVA FINAL | Page 3

CriminaLess Magazine | May 2019
The new cocktail at london’s bars
N
It has happened to all of us. We
are having a fun time in a club,
we are dancing, chatting and
going around while our drink
is left somewhere on the other side of
the bar. Well, next time before leaving
your drink unattended better think twice.
Sometimes your drink could be not only
your “best friend” on a night out, but it
could also be extremely dangerous and in
some cases even life threatening. London
is the place where you can find thousands
of different bars, beverages and bar clients.
However, the popular drinking culture in
the city contributes to the spread of a crime
called drink spiking. Now is the moment to
leave all your “this-can’t-happen-to-me”
thoughts as figures revealed by the London
Met Police in September 2018, show 108%
rise of drinks-spiking reports since 2015.
Drink spiking can happen in every place
where drinks are consumed. It is not neces-
sary to attend a party at a nightclub to get
spiked, this could happen even at your lo-
cal pub, at a home party or even on a date.
Often drink spiking is a prerequisite for
sexual assault and roberry. The offend-
ers use the “spiking” method to lower
their victims’ defences and make them
easy prey. Here are some ways to avoid
becoming a victim of a spiked drink.
Never leave your drink out of your sight
It can take only a few seconds for one to
pour a substance in your glass so it’s bet-
ter to always have it with you. It’s comfy
to have a fresh drink
waiting for you on
the bar while you are
dancing but it could
be very risky. If you
are going on the
dancefloor or to the
toilet, ask a friend to
keep an eye on your
drink, if you haven’t
got any company
just keep your drink
in your hand wher-
ever you are going.
W
a
t
c
h
SPIKE
how
your
drink
is
prepared
It’s always safest to buy a beverage which
comes in a bottle and has a lid. However,
let’s be realistic, these are very rarely of-
fered in bars
or
restau-
rants.
So
when you are
waiting
for
your cocktail,
for example,
don’t stare at
your phone
but instead
look on what
liquids
are
poured in. It’s
much harder
for the bar-
tender
to
spike
your
drink if you
watch him or
her carefully.
Everyone
knows
that
women
are
more likely to
receive drinks
as
compli-
ments from
strangers. It’s
not a surprise
that 71% of
spiking victims are women. A golden rule
to follow in order to avoid drink spiking
is never to take a drink from a stranger
or from a bartender where you haven’t
been able to witness the process of mak-
ing the beverage.
SYMPTOMS
how can you un-
derstand if you
have been spiked
Memory loss is
often a side ef-
fect of the sub-
stances
used
to spike drinks.
Therefore, it is of-
ten hard for the
victim to explain
what has hap-
pened and who
the perpetrator is. According to London
Met Police many victims have almost
no memory of the incident and don’t
know what has happened to them. Other
symptoms you may experience include:
feeling drunk, woozy or drowsy,
halliucinations,
seizures
mental
confusion,
speech
dif-
ficulties
such
as
slurring
If you feel any of these symptoms, you
should contact a person you can trust or
a member of staff immediately. If you are
going out with friends, don’t forget to
keep an eye on them. If you think your
buddy could have been be spiked, the
advice of the NHS is to keep talking with
them constantly to make sure they are
contact until you get some medical help.
Remember - if you are a victim of drink
spiking don’t keep it to yourself. Report it!
This is a serious criminal offence and a per-
son who spikes a drink could be sentenced
to 10 years in jail.
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