New Delhi: Prime Minister Keir Starmer will use a summit with police chiefs and industry leaders on Monday to demand “coordinated action” to tackle spiking and violence against women and girls.
The Office of the Prime Minister in a statement said Starmer would reiterate his commitment to halving violence against women and girls and highlight plans to make spiking a new criminal offence. Starmer will tell industry executives and transport bosses they must work together with police forces to “stamp out this cowardly act and take back our streets”.
The new criminal offence will be accompanied by training for thousands of bar staff in how to spot and tackle spiking, which will be rolled out to up to 10,000 staff across the country by spring next year. This training will equip staff with skills to prevent incidents, support victims, and help police collect evidence.
Starmer will also highlight police tactics already in operation, including the use of plainclothes officers in areas around bars and clubs to spot predatory sexual behaviour, the statement added.
British Transport Police’s relaunch of a text-to-report number, 61016, will also be discussed. The number allows women to discreetly contact police if they are, or someone else is, being harassed on the train.