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Newry City Councillor Doire Finn has welcomed engagement from the local PSNI to help raise awareness around drink spiking. Councillor Finn contacted local officers about her concerns following a number of reported incidents in the area.
Councillor Finn said “After contacting PSNI to raise my concerns around drink spiking in the wider Newry area and the need for greater awareness I welcome the police’s commitment to engage with licensed establishments and young people in an attempt to tackle this issue.
“In response to my concerns police have already visited a number of licensed premises to provide staff with the latest guidance on how to prevent spiking and how to deal with any reports that occur on their premises. They have also provided establishments with posters on the issue and committed to holding a public information stall at Buttercrane Shopping Centre next month ahead of exam results season with information for young people on spiking and alcohol consumption.
“I will continue to press police to provide spiking kits to establishments and would ask bars and nightclubs to obtain them themselves if at all possible. This is the best way of identifying if a spiking incident has occurred and will allow any victims to get the treatment and support they need as quickly as possible.
“Having your drink spiked is a terrible ordeal for anyone to have to go through and can result in serious physical and mental impacts on victims. Everyone should be able to enjoy a night out without worrying about being subjected to an attack of this nature. It’s vitally important that we do everything we can to stamp out drink spiking, create awareness around spiking and how to prevent it, and to ensure that perpetrators and the public know the severe consequences of engaging in this kind of criminal activity.”
