The Scottish Conservatives have renewed their call for the SNP Government to make drink spiking a standalone offence, in the wake of “shocking” figures showing the paltry conviction rates.
Responses to Freedom of Information requests reveal that there were just 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 have claimed that the current laws around drink spiking are sufficient but the UK Government is introducing a specific drink-spiking offence to crackdown on this cowardly crime south of the border.
Shadow victims and community safety minister Sharon Dowey has condemned the SNP’s reluctance to do the right thing and ensure that those who commit this crime feel the full force of the law.
Scottish Conservative shadow minister for victims and community safety Sharon Dowey MSP 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.”
Notes to editors
There were only four convictions for drink spiking between 2021/22 and 2024/25. There was one conviction in 2021/22, two in 2022/23, one in 2023/24 and zero in 2024/25 for drink spiking, including charges under crimes of ‘drugging’ or under section 11 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009. (Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service FOI, 1 September 2025, available upon request).
There were 47 charges reported to the Crown Office between 2021/22 and 2024/25. These resulted in four convictions, 17 no convictions, 10 cases that were ongoing, three that had no decision made, 11 that were not separately actioned, one dealt with by direct measure, and one that had no action taken. (Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service FOI, 1 September 2025, available upon request).
The Scottish Government claim that the current laws around drink spiking are sufficient. The Scottish Government say, “Spiking can be prosecuted under the common law offence of drugging, which is a broad offence covering all types of drink spiking. Another common law offence which may be relevant depending on the individual facts and circumstances of each case is assault. There is also a more specific statutory offence contained in section 11 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 called administering a substance for sexual purposes.” (Scottish Government, Accessed 28 October 2025, link).
The Scottish Government have no plans to create a specific drink-spiking offence. The Scottish Government say, “We have no plans at this time to create a specific criminal offence of spiking, however we keep all laws under review.” (Scottish Government, Accessed 28 October 2025, link).
The Scottish Conservatives called for drink spiking to be made a specific offence in 2023. Russell Findlay proposed a Bill that would have made clear spiking is a criminal offence. (STV News, 28 April 2023, link).
Angela Constance has said the Government does not support further legislation on spiking. Constance said to the Justice Committee that, “We are strongly of the view that we do not need further legislation on spiking. Spiking is addressed under common law as well as under the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009, so, in my view and in the view of the government, there is not a legislative gap around that in Scotland. Legislation is there to prosecute people who do that and to imprison them for up to five years.” (1919, 4 November 2025, link).
Police Scotland have recorded 760 reported drink-spiking incidents since 2020. Police Scotland classified most of these as ‘druggings,’ while 78 incidents were categorised as ‘administering a substance for sexual purposes.’ The highest number of cases were reported in Scotland’s largest cities, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Dundee, where the nightlife is busiest and student populations are largest. (STV News, 13 September 2025, link).
In 2025, 1.5% of adults in Scotland, approximately 67,000, reported being a victim of drink spiking. According to research from Drinkaware, 1.5% of adults in Scotland, approximately 67,000, reported being a victim of drink spiking in the last year. (Drinkaware, 22 September 2025, link).
Only one in four drink-spiking incidents are reported to the police. Drinkaware and Anglia Ruskin University found that only one in four (23%) of those across the UK who experienced drink spiking reported the incident to the police. (Drinkaware, 17 September 2025, link).
The UK Government is introducing a specific drink-spiking offence. The Crime and Policing Bill creates a new administering a harmful substance offence, using modern language, that covers incidents of “spiking”. (UK Government, 21 July 2025, link).