It may only be a few seconds, but if you aren’t watching your drink, who is?
In a bid to raise awareness of the dangers of drink ‘spiking’, Strathclyde Police will be piloting a new product in Glasgow North and East Dunbartonshire.
It’s the first time in Scotland that the ‘SafeFlo’ device has been used. Ten licensed premises in the area will take part in the initiative, which kicked off on Thursday 15 December 2005.
Two hundred thousand of the simple plastic devices that fit onto the tops of bottled drinks will be distributed for use throughout the festive season - 50,000 of which feature the Crimestoppers logo and telephone number 0800 555 111.
Once fitted, the SafeFlo is virtually impossible to remove without being broken or breaking the bottle it’s attached to. As well as promoting hygiene, it allows people to enjoy their drink and minimises the risk of substances being unknowingly added to their tipple without their knowledge.
The SafeFlo campaign is being backed by Clyde 1 DJ Suzie McGuire, who wants to help raise awareness of the dangers that people can face when leaving there drink unattended. She says:
“We all want to enjoy ourselves on a night out, especially at this time of year and the last thing that anyone wants is to fall victim to ‘spiking’. You never know who could be watching your drink and, if this campaign can help to spread that message and prevent even one person becoming a victim, then it has my support.”
As well as distributing the SafeFlo devices, Strathclyde Police will also mount a poster campaign, targeting pubs and clubs in Glasgow North and East Dunbartonshire.
Raising awareness is the biggest weapon in the fight against ‘spiking’ and there are a few measures we can all take to help protect ourselves:
- never accept a drink from anyone that you don’t fully trust
- if you do accept a drink, make sure you have seen it being poured or in the case of bottled drinks, opened in front of you
- never leave your drink unattended, consume leftover drinks or drinks discarded by someone else
- spiking can be through drugs or alcohol being added to your drink
- if you think your drink has been spiked, try to contact a friend or relation, or seek help from a responsible member of staff in the pub or club
- remember - drug-assisted rape can and does happen to men as well as women.
A teenage victim told how she and her boyfriend had their drinks spiked while they were out for the evening. The girl, who wished to remain anonymous, told that she was found slumped on the floor in the ladies at a popular local nightspot.
She said: “It was an ordeal – my mind new what to do but my body wouldn’t do it. Doctors said my drink had been spiked with horse dope and that my boyfriend was also drugged so that they could get at me. We feel safer now thanks to Safe-flo which has removed a lot of the risks with their brilliant invention.”
Chief Supt Gordon Meldrum, Radio Clyde DJ Suzie McGuire, Chairman of Crimestoppers Stewart McCulloch and Patrick Shea, the inventor of 'SafeFlo' attended the launch at Tantra, Kirkintilloch on 15 December 2005.
Venues participating in the campaign are:
BJ's - 828 Crow Rd, Glasgow.
Framptons, 1236 Maryhill Rd, Glasgow
The Woodside Social Club, 329 North Woodside Rd, Glasgow
Viper - 3/9 Belmont Lane, Glasgow
The Avon Lounge, 281 Saracen St, Glasgow
The Eagle Lodge, 2 Hilton Rd, Bishopbriggs
Fuel, 177 Kirkintilloch Rd, Bishopbriggs
Tantra, 17 East High St, Kirkintilloch
Club Go, 12A Kilsyth Rd, Kirkintilloch
Smiths, 3 David Donnelly Pl, Kirkintilloch
The campaign has been funded by Strathclyde Police, North Maryhill
Corridor Community Safety Forum and East Dunbartonshire Community
Safety Partnership, and is supported by Crimestoppers Scotland.
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