Drink spiking laws a first for WA

17/6/07
New laws to be introduced into State Parliament this week will, for the first time, make it an offence to spike another person's drink or food.
Attorney General Jim McGinty said that, under current laws, individuals who added drugs to the drinks or food of others could only be prosecuted if it could be proved they intended to commit a crime against their victim following the spiking.
"Currently, there is no express drink and food spiking criminal offence," Mr McGinty said.
"Often spiking is a prelude to sexual or other abuse and Section 293 of the Criminal Code contains the offence of administering a stupefying drug with the intention of committing an indictable offence. This offence carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
"However, it is often hard for a prosecutor to prove that an alleged offender intended to abuse their victim after spiking their drink.
"Under the new laws, drink or food spiking will carry a penalty of up to three years in prison."
There are no statistics on the rate of confirmed cases of drink spiking in Western Australia. However, WA Police have received between 40 and 70 reported cases annually over recent years.
In 2002-03 drink spiking was extensively reported in the media and the number of reported cases jumped significantly to 210.
This suggested significant under-reporting of drink spiking.
"Many people who think their drink may have been spiked do not report their suspicions to the police," Mr McGinty said.
"This may be because of embarrassment or because at the time of the alleged offence, they were knowingly consuming alcohol and were not clear on what occurred."
The Attorney General said in most of the cases reported to police each year, toxicology screening revealed high blood alcohol levels. Few people screened had the drugs normally associated with drink spiking, such as Rohypnol and GHB, in their system.
"Some cases might seem relatively innocent such as when a person conceals the fact that the drink they are buying another has three shots of spirit rather than the standard amount," Mr McGinty said.
"However, after several strong drinks that person could be very vulnerable.
"These new laws will make it much harder for predators to spike other people's food or drink and get away with it."
Queensland and South Australia have recently introduced specific drink spiking offences, while the NSW and ACT Governments have indicated that they intend to develop similar legislation.
Attorney General's office - 9422 3000