Police need to do more for student safety amid spiking rise

Students in university cities feel that safety personnel in clubs on nights out aren’t doing enough to keep them safe, even as reports of spiking cases rise.

Flora Campbell is a student at Newcastle University, and she said it took the police “ages” to come when her friend was spiked in a club, and she had to be the one to carry her out.

She said, “the bouncers didn’t even offer any help; [the police] didn’t believe her, they walked in and asked who ‘claimed to have been spiked.’”

Although Northumbria police have warned students to stay vigilant, and some nightclubs have begun to try to tackle the rise in spiking cases by bringing out covers for drinks, Flora said, “I definitely feel more unsafe. I don’t want [spiking] to stop me going out, but it’s constantly in the back of your mind.”

Market Shaker, one of the most popular nightclubs in Newcastle, has promised a 50% increase in security staff and they will start wearing bodycams on the door to make clubbers safer.

Photo by Krys Amon on Unsplash