Justice secretary vows to 'improve experience' of spiking victims after Record reveals concerns over testing delays

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Scotland's new justice secretary has agreed to “improve the experience” of spiking victims after the Record revealed concerns over delays in testing.

Angela Constance was quizzed in Holyrood yesterday after we told how Police Scotland was outsourcing the testing of hundreds of extra samples a year in cases where victims are drugged while out in pubs or clubs.

One young victim, Jess Insall, who waited 10 months for her results after a 34-hour delay in being tested, told the Record the new testing capacity was long overdue as tougher new measures are proposed to tackle spiking predators.

Constance told MSPs police data shows there were 601 recorded crimes relating to spiking between October 2021 and 2022. She said: “The act of spiking is utterly abhorrent and we remain absolutely committed to working with partners including Police Scotland, health services and third sector organisations to tackle all forms of violence against women and girls. “It is absolutely appropriate that Police Scotland should take whatever operational decisions that they consider appropriate to have in place additional capacity for spiking cases should it be required.” When quizzed on the speed forensic tests are processed in spiking cases, Constance said: “These are matters that we will continue to look at very closely because we need to improve the experience of people who have been a victim of such an abhorrent crime.” The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) has awarded a public contract to major forensic services firm Eurofins, spending £662,978 on the toxicology screening of up to 300 more urine samples a year.