Police receive thousands of reports of spiking a year – but minimal cases result in charges, a Home Office report suggests.

Between May 2022 and April 2023, there were 6,732 reports of spiking in England and Wales – including 957 reported incidents of needle spiking.

On average police receive 561 reports of spiking a month, with the majority being made by women typically after incidents in or near bars and nightclubs, the report published on Monday said.

It comes as the Government stopped short of overhauling laws to make spiking – when someone puts drugs into another’s drink or directly into their body without their knowledge or consent – a specific offence.

But ministers instead pledged to modernise the language used in legislation to make clear it is a crime and announced a series of other measures as part of a crackdown.

Challenges to prosecuting spiking cases “do not result from insufficient laws”, but most likely occur while investigating and gathering evidence, according to the report.

National Police Chiefs’ Council data shows only 12.5% (378) of reports were able to identify a suspect. Of those, only four resulted in a charge, the document said. A timeframe for the figures was not provided.

But the findings stressed there may have been other successfully prosecuted cases which have not been identified if they were not recorded in the same way.

The report also describes needle spiking as a fleeting “phenomenon” in 2021, as research indicated it has not become more widely prevalent since, but acknowledged all types of spiking were significantly under reported by victims.

Victims minister Laura Farris branded spiking an “insidious and predatory act” which was “already illegal under existing laws”. But she also said there was a “strong case” for amending the Criminal Justice Bill and updating the Offences Against The Person Act 1861.

Publishing the report was a “pivotal step in understanding the extent of this insidious offence” and changes to legislation make the offence “explicit” and “capture the modern day nature of the threat”, she said.

In the House of Commons, Ms Farris assured MPs that amending the existing law would make it “crystal clear” that spiking is an offence.

“One of the reasons that we are changing the law today and making spiking crystal clear is to improve public confidence and make victims feel encouraged to come forward, because we know that that is the first bit of the jigsaw,” she said.

Home Secretary James Cleverly – who described tackling violence against women and girls as a “personal priority” for him and spiking a “perverse” crime – said the plans unveiled were “comprehensive”.

Spiking is currently covered by several different areas of legislation, but there is no single dedicated offence under which to prosecute perpetrators, which prompted calls for campaigners and politicians to make changes amid concerns incidents of the crime were growing.

Despite committing in 2022 to look at new legislation, ministers earlier this year confirmed a specific offence for spiking would not be created because it was unnecessary as several other offences cover incidents of spiking.

Instead, the Home Office announced that hundreds more bouncers will be offered training to spot potential perpetrators and signs of spiking, as well as pledging to put more cash towards funding research into test kits while police chiefs in England and Wales will run targeted operations on key weeks of the year.

There are also plans to make it easier for victims to report spiking to police anonymously and more easily online.

Michael Kill, chief executive of Night Time Industries Association, initially welcomed news the laws would be changed but later expressed “deep disappointment”, adding that the “omission of spiking as a specific crime in the latest measures falls significantly short of expectations, considering the gravity and far-reaching impact of this criminal activity.”

But Dawn Dines, the founder of Stamp Out Spiking, said the plans were “monumental”.

Alex Davies-Jones, Labour’s shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, said: “The Conservatives are finally moving in the right direction but there is more work to do when, as figures from earlier this year showed, spiking reports had risen fivefold but the proportion leading to charges fell.

“Labour have called for spiking to be made a separate offence to increase people coming forward and the chance for convictions, and for every police force to have a rape and serious sexual offence unit.”

Labour backbencher Judith Cummins (Bradford South), meanwhile, urged ministers to ensure the training for bouncers is extended to cover staff at music festivals and other locations.

Ms Farris told her the Government was willing to work with “every level” of staff, adding: “We are not in any doubt as to who the frontline responders are. Festivals, yes, are a primary location. So are student campuses. Of course, bar staff come into this.”