Drink spiking is when someone puts drugs or alcohol into a person’s drink without their consent. It can include putting alcohol into a non-alcoholic drink, adding extra alcohol to an alcoholic drink or slipping prescription or illegal drugs into an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink. It can be difficult to tell whether a drink has been spiked, as substances used for spiking usually have no taste, odour or colour.
Needle spiking is when someone injects a victim with a substance using a hypodermic needle (or other form of administration such as a combi-pen).
National figures suggest that spiking has increased over the past 4 years LGA Guidance on Spiking.
Steps to prevent spiking could include:
There is free training for hospitality staff and venues on spiking from the Home Office
Ask for Angela is the national scheme that helps anyone who is feeling vulnerable on a night out to get the support they need. Staff at a night-time economy venue are trained to understand and respond to anyone who asks for Angela. This may include calling security, taking the person to a safe space or helping them leave the premises unnoticed.
Stroud District Council encourages adoption of the scheme by operators of bars, pubs and other night-time venues where people meet up. We also encourage adoption by operators of cafes, restaurants and other hospitality venues.
For information and training material see the Ask Angela website
The Safe Space Scheme is a a community of businesses that provide a safe and secure place for women to go if they are being followed or feel under threat in any way. Businesses that sign up will display the Safe Space Logo which shows that any female feeling under threat is welcomed in immediately with no questions asked until the threat has passed. There is more info, a training video and links to apply to join the scheme here Safe Space Scheme - Safe Space Scheme
The Night Angels are a service run by women that patrol Stroud Town Centre on Friday and Saturday nights and can give assistance to people that might find themselves needing help. You might spot them out and about wearing pink high vis jackets. They work closely with the emergency services and the local night time economy .
Martyn's Law is UK wide legislation that places a requirement on those responsible for certain publicly accessible locations to consider the threat from terrorism and implement appropriate and proportionate mitigation measures.
For more information see (updated April 2025) Martyn’s Law overview and what you need to know | ProtectUK
There is more information here Home Office factsheet on Martyn’s law and the Government's web
There are useful factsheets on the VCS Emergencies Partnership Website https://www.vcsep.org.uk/learning
See here for the Protect UK website which gives support to organisations to evaluate and manage the risk from terrorism. There are links to useful E learning training on awareness and how to be prepared for a terrorist attack.
The following advice has been agreed between the Gloucestershire Licensing Authorities and the Police
Staff at licensed premises have no formal powers to seize ID however if the individual wishes to surrender the ID, then we advise that you retain it for 28 days. If the individual returns with suitable ID or proof, then it can be handed back. After the 28 days it can be destroyed. Please do not return ID to any police station.
We suggest that any ID that is retained is recorded in the premises incident book and when returned (details of who to)/destroyed.
We would suggest that a poster stating that the ID would be destroyed after 28 days is displayed and that this is also stated to the person on surrender.
Licence holders should consider applying the principles of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle to minimize waste and potential littering issues. This could include:
There is new legislation coming in which places responsibility on businesses to recycle and food plus recyclables such as metal, plastics, paper and glass that they generate from their business. There is more information here
No business – including retailers, takeaways, food vendors or part of the hospitality industry – is permitted to sell or supply single-use plastic cutlery, balloon sticks, polystyrene cups or food containers in England.
This includes:
Businesses can supply single-use plastic plates, bowls and trays if either of the following apply:
Examples of this type of packaging include:
There is more information on the links below