An action group set up to help raise awareness of drink spiking in St Ives says people don’t want to report incidents to police out of “fear they won’t be believed”.
More than 75 people from the local area took part in the survey which was created by concerned father Dan Sly.
It comes after Mr Sly’s 20-year-old daughter was taken to A&E after her drink was spiked at an event in the town just before Christmas.
Since then, Mr Sly has taken matters into his own hands to find out the truth about alleged similar incidents in St Ives.
He setup the online survey, as well as Facebook page Anti Spikers of St Ives (ASSI).
According to people who took part in the survey focusing on December 2021; it was claimed that 17 incidents of drink spiking allegedly took place in St Ives.
Seventy-four per cent of participants said that they think there is a “serious issue” in the town, while 78 per cent did not know where to go for victim support.
Some 19 people claimed they did not report an alleged drink spiking incident in 2021 due being “fearful of not being believed” and 24 others said they were “unable to recall” what actually happened.
MORE: Police operation launched after increase in drink spiking in county
The survey was live from December 28 2021 to January 4 2022.
The anti-spikers group say they are now keen to focus on three main areas for their awareness campaign in St Ives, stating:
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Report - we want to encourage victims of drink and needle spiking to report all attacks to the police as soon as possible.
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Action - we want the authorities, pubs, clubs and events in St Ives to be proactive when tackling this crime.
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Support - we need to make sure victims of these attacks, and the community in general, know exactly where to go for support.
A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire police said: “We have received one report of drink spiking in St Ives in recent months.
“We take all reports of spiking extremely seriously and encourage all victims to report any concerns they may have to police or a member of bar staff or security as soon as possible.
“All reports made to us are investigated thoroughly and all lines of enquiry considered.”
For more information on ASSI visit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/antispikersofstives
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