Scottish Tories call for new offence of drink-spiking despite it already being a crime

Responses to freedom of information requests reveal that there were four convictions for drink spiking between 2021-2023, with no convictions at all in 2024-2025.

In total, there were 47 charges reported to the Crown Office over the last four years, which included four cases ending in conviction, 17 resulting in no conviction, one resulting in no action, and 10 that were still ongoing.

The Scottish government said that the current laws around drink spiking are sufficient but the UK government is introducing a specific drink-spiking offence south of the border.

Shadow victims and community safety minister Sharon Dowey said: “There have been hundreds of reports of drink spiking across Scotland, but these shocking figures lay bare how badly victims are being failed.

“The Scottish Conservatives have been calling for drink spiking to be made a specific offence for years, but the SNP have repeatedly turned a blind eye to these calls.

“These stats should be a wake-up call for Nationalist ministers to finally show that they take this crime seriously, because the existing legislation is confusing and letting down victims.

“Scotland is at real risk of being left behind now that the law in England is rightly being changed.

“Scots enjoying the festive season deserve the reassurance of knowing that drink-spiking offenders will feel the full force of the law.”