Police aren’t keeping records of drink spiking, even though it’s a crime

Queensland police might change the way drink spiking is reported and recorded, after concerns the system fails victims and does not capture accurate spiking rates.

Drink spiking – adding alcohol or drugs to someone’s drink without their consent – is a crime in Queensland, with a maximum sentence of five years’ jail.

However, the database used by the Queensland Police Service to record offences, QPRIME, does not capture statistics for spiking alone.

Despite being a standalone offence, police do not have data about how often victims report drink spiking.Credit: Andrew Quilty

In response to a data request by this masthead a QPS spokesperson said because spiking was often linked to another offence – such as assault, sexual assault, fraud or theft – they could not extract statistics about how often it occurred.

Queensland Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski admitted the system had shortcomings, and said he was open to reviewing practices with Queensland Health.

“I understand that our system has been categorising [drink spiking] ... as a component of another offence such as sexual assault,” he said.

Steve Gollschewski says police may review how drink spiking is recorded.Credit: Matt Dennien

“We’ll certainly look at whether we can improve our QPRIME system to be able to identify that more clearly, because at the moment we can’t pull that out alone, in itself.

“I should let the community know that this is a serious offence … if there’s anything we can do to improve our ability to investigate that, we’re open to that and we’ll have that dialogue with Queensland Health.”

Police were asked about seven defendants taken to court over drink spiking between July 2021 and May 2024, but did not provide further information.

In October, a QPS spokesperson said the service “takes all reports of spiking seriously and investigate these occurrences on a case-by-case basis”.

“Additionally, the QPS remains committed to refining and enhancing the police response to drink spiking reports, including improving processes for reporting, investigating matters in a timely manner, and holding perpetrators to account,” they said.

“Any reports of drug or alcohol spiking are taken seriously and anyone who believes they have been spiked is asked to report the matter to police as soon as possible, to ensure inquiries and evidence collection can be conducted in a timely manner.”

Substances typically associated with drink spiking include sedative-type drugs such as benzodiazepines, ketamine, GHB or rohypnol. According to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, the use of GHB and rohypnol is rare.

Some victims of drink spiking are treated in hospital emergency departments, but a spokesperson for Queensland Health said it did not have data on “the mechanism of drug ingestion” – only statistics showing drug-related presentations to emergency departments.

Details of the substances are not recorded either, with a blanket classification of “drug-related” in hospital records.

Queensland Health said the state was experiencing “a significant and sustained drop in drug-related hospital presentations, including overdoses”.

The last national report into drink spiking in Australia was conducted 20 years ago. According to the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), drink spiking is under-reported.

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