New Year party-goers are being urged to report drink and needle-spiking as quickly as possible.
Almost 5,000 reports of needle and drink spiking were made to UK police forces over the course of a year.
As drugs pass through our bodies so quickly it is hard to collect evidence and prosecute offenders, officers say. Their advice is to report suspected spiking and get tested - even if you’ve knowingly taken something earlier in the night.
Spiking is when someone puts alcohol or drugs into another person’s drink or body without their consent or knowledge. As well as drink-spiking, people can also be the victims of needle-spiking, which is injecting someone with drugs without their consent.
According to figures from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), 4,924 reports were made to UK police forces in the 12 months to September.
The most common drugs detected were cocaine, ketamine and MDMA, based on 800 tests carried out so far. The most common report was spiking by needle, with 2,581 cases recorded by police, closely followed by drink-spiking at 2,131 cases.
A very real danger … sometimes the “spiker’s” intention is not deliberately malicious but the effects on the “spiked” can be, nevertheless, overwhelming and deeply disturbing … 
