The Guernsey Guide to Reporting Spiking has been launched by local night economy safety charity SafetyNet in partnership with Guernsey Police, Crimestoppers, Willow House and Victim Support.

Guernsey Police have received 17 grow reports so far this year, bringing the total number of grow reports in Guernsey to 107 in 2019.

There have been no confirmed cases of growth from these reports.

“For the past three years, we’ve had a steady stream of messages from people who suspect they’ve been enhanced. We refer them to support services, but almost every time they don’t report it, and it’s become quite clear that there are some barriers in not understanding how to report, when in fact it’s a very simple process,” said the founder and president SafetyNet Poppy.Murray.

“Lack of trust in the police can also be a barrier, so we wanted to create a guide that works with the police because they want people to report these crimes to them.

“They want to support victims, but most of all we want people who have experienced this to know what the next steps are if you’ve been through something

traumatic, then not knowing what to do next can make things worse.

“This guide represents every option available to the public and support services available.”

Drink spiking can be with alcohol or other substances, through food or vape.

There was also a case in Jersey in September when a man was suspected of being shot by accepting some chewing gum from a stranger.

“We have no confirmed cases here, but it’s highly unlikely that Guernsey is the only place in the world where this doesn’t happen, we think it’s more likely difficult to prove. But hopefully people are starting to feel more confident about reporting it,” Miss Murray said.

Detective Sergeant Tom Lowe said police hoped the guide would be useful to people.

“We investigate every report of a suspected explosion with a victim-centered approach. Although no explosion has ever been confirmed in Guernsey, we are following all lines of inquiry and are guided by the evidence from our impartial investigations,” he said.

“Ongoing reports allow us to get a picture of the type of crime that may be happening in the community, but generally if people don’t come forward to report a crime, we can’t address it.”