Colchester drink spiking could be tackled by new scheme

The wristbands change colour within two minutes of being exposed to a drop of a drink if it has been spiked by common "date rape" drugs.

Essex Police is hoping to run the trial in Colchester and across the county if it can find the funding and a manufacturer to produce them.

The wristbands need only a drop of a drink from a straw and will change colour if the liquid contains ketamine, ecstasy and Gamma hydroxybutyrate – a common date rape drug which causes drowsiness.

Worrying - reported incidents of spiking have increased in recent years (Image: Newsquest)

It comes as rates of drink-spiking offences reported have soared in the county in recent years.

Figures obtained from Essex Police via a Freedom of Information request show the force received 660 reports from people allegedly being spiked by injection or drink spiking between January 1 2021 and New Year’s Eve 2022.

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Of these, 479 complainants were female while 328 were male. No suspect was identified in 328 of the completed investigations.

The concept of a wristband scheme has been praised by Our Colchester Business Improvement District’s business crime liaison officer Vincent Geaves.

Trial - the scheme could be rolled out in Colchester and across Essex (Image: Newsquest)

He said: “I think for the night time economy and keeping people safe it is an amazing idea.

“We are also looking at people who work in the night time economy and how we keep them safe, so we have some exciting projects coming up.”

Mr Geaves added: “In Colchester after the Covid pandemic there was a rise in spiking cases.

“The more people who come forward and tell the authorities, the more data we have and the more evidence we have to understand it.”

In October 2021, the Gazette reported on an “epidemic” of drink spiking in Colchester, with several alleged victims bravely telling their story.

And the numbers show that month was the second worst on Essex Police’s record within its published timeframe, with 44 reported incidents.

A police spokesman said: “These sorts of incidents are thankfully rare but we will not shy away from tackling this issue and we will do all we can to continue to make public safety our top priority."

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