New Campaign Educates Students on Spiking Risks

Educational efforts are underway to inform students about the risks of drink spiking, utilizing specialized goggles designed to mimic the sensation of being under the influence of drugs. CounterSpike, a company focused on preventing drink spiking, was established following an incident where its co-founder experienced spiking at a festival. Mark Ackred stated his belief that the occurrence of spiking incidents is increasing, noting that it is now frequently employed for robbery or by individuals who “think it is funny”. CounterSpike has collaborated with the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) in Cirencester, where students received instruction on preventing spiking and participated in a silent disco on 29 October. Alexandra Godfrey, 21, a student governor at the RAU, commented: “I think spiking is something you are always thinking about especially as a woman.” Miss Godfrey further stated: “I’ll walk around with my hand covering my drink and I know other people have similar methods to keep themselves safe. A few years ago we had a big bout in Cirencester of spiking happening in pubs and the clubs in town.” She mentioned that it was an issue she “constantly thought about” when socializing, but observed that the situation in Cirencester had gotten better. She added: “It is super safe in Cirencester… but when we go further afield that’s definitely something I worry about. Bigger cities, bigger clubs, places people don’t know.” During the silent disco, students received facts, advice, and details concerning spiking through their headphones. Additionally, they were provided with kaleidoscope goggles to simulate the sensation of being spiked and disoriented. In addition to the immersive training course for students, CounterSpike is introducing an online course intended for venues and bars. Mr. Ackred, 47, co-founder of CounterSpike, reiterated his view that spiking incidents are increasing. He stated: “At CounterSpike we have a three pillar strategy – prevention, education and training.” “The problem of spiking has changed, it used to be perceived as the pre-cursor to a sexual offence.” “Actually now its much more about thinking its funny and people doing it to rob you.” Mr. Ackred recounted being spiked at a festival in Oxfordshire while accompanied by his children, an experience that motivated him and his co-founder to establish CounterSpike. He commented: “All of a sudden I felt absolutely horrific and was incapacitated for about six hours which was scary both for me and for my children.” “Everyone’s talking about it but not doing anything – we wanted to give control back to people.” Matthew Harris, 21, an RAU student, remarked: “You hear the horrible stories and think that’s one in a million but actually when you start paying attention and looking a little bit deeper you see it happens really often.” “I think raising awareness is a great idea and doing something a bit fun with it too, I’m sure we’ve all sat through plenty of power points before and its nice to do something different.” Will Marsh, director of external communications at the RAU, stated: “It is not something we have a specific problem with here in Cirencester and at the University but anything that can keep our students safe is something that we want to support.” CounterSpike has also established an accreditation system for bars and venues to implement. James Stone, 25, the general manager at 17 Black, a popular student bar in Cirencester, has undertaken the course. He commented: “It’s great because it helps bring more awareness to the issue at hand.” “In the general drinking culture nowadays spiking is till a major problem that needs to be tackled more in bars and clubs around the country.”