Spikings reported on Leeside

There have been 13 reported drink spikings in Cork city over the past six weeks.

The concerning statistic was revealed by Cork city Garda Chief Superintendent Tom Myers at Joint Policing Committee (JPC) meeting this week. Chief Superintendent Myers said these figures represent only what has been reported and there may well be other cases going unreported.

All 13 cases were reported since the October Bank Holiday.

He said the motive for such a crime can often be to carry out a sexual assault or rape. Speaking to the Cork Independent, director of the Sexual Violence Centre Cork, Mary Crilly said 13 is a high number in such a short space of time.

She said: “It is a lot. Spiking has been going on forever and it’s great to see the guards taking it seriously and documenting it because I would question how often it was documented in the past.”

Ms Crilly said there is a huge responsibility on pub and club owners to tackle the issue of spiking.

“I think it’s their responsibility, especially if they see a young girl or a young guy coming out of a nightclub, totally out of it and on their own, that they have to see how they get home, get them a taxi or something,” she said.

Speaking at Monday’s JPC, Chief Superintendent Myers outlined the warning signs of spiking and highlighted that alcohol is still the most common drug being used in the drink spiking cases reported to the gardaí.

“Sometimes drink itself is spiked by other drinks, but when there’s a drug involved, it can slow down your nervous system and dull your responses. Most drugs take effect within about 30 minutes and symptoms usually last for several hours,” said the Chief Superintendent.

He continued: “Some of those symptoms might be that you will have lower inhibitions, difficulty concentrating and speaking, losing your balance or finding it hard to move, visual problems, memory loss, feeling confused and disorientated, and in some cases you might even go into unconsciousness.”

Chief Superintendent Myers said it is unlikely a victim will see, smell or taste any difference in their drink and urged anyone who feels they might have been targeted to tell a close friend, a relative, a medical professional or the gardaí as early as possible.

Sexual assault and rape

Reported sexual assault and rape is up 13 per cent compared to this time last year, which Ms Crilly says is just the “tip of the iceberg” in terms of how many assaults and rapes are actually happening.

However, she said that an increase of 13 per cent in reported incidents may not be as alarming as it seems and could partially be down to victims having more confidence in the services offered by the gardaí than in the past.

She said: “It’s really swings and roundabouts. I wouldn’t be too concerned about 13 per cent because you could find in another quarter that it’s 13 per cent around the other way. The reality is that, even with Covid-19 going on, sexual violence has continued.

“I think, since protective services units opened in garda stations, things are dealt with a lot more efficiently and a lot faster, now, that’s not criticism of the previous guards.”

Ms Crilly said the vast majority of incidents go unreported, often because the victim knows the perpetrator.

“It’s somebody who is in the apartment with them, somebody who’s in school with them, somebody who’s in college with them.

“We’re coming across kids who are in school with their attacker, not even in college, and it’s really hard for them to have to continue to study,” said Ms Crilly.

The Sexual Violence Centre Cork will launch a survey today, Thursday, examining the prevalence of stalking in Ireland.

According to Ms Crilly, there have been no studies on the prevalence, process or impact on victims of stalking and harassment in Ireland to date.

The survey was developed by researchers in UCC and is hosted by the Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights in UCC.

The survey can be accessed at stalkingireland.ie/survey.