The statistic has fuelled calls for a specific offence to be created.
The SNP Government has been criticised after new figures showed there were no convictions for drink spiking last year. UK Ministers are considering creating a specific drink-spiking offence to crackdown on the crime.
But John Swinney’s administration has said it has no plans to legislate for a standalone offence. Statistics uncovered by the Tories show there were 47 charges reported to the Crown Office over the last four years.
Disposals included four cases ending in conviction, 17 resulting in no conviction, one resulting in no action, and 10 that were still ongoing. There were no convictions at all last year.
Tory MSP Sharon Dowey MSP said: “There have been hundreds of reports of drink spiking across Scotland, but these shocking figures lay bare how badly victims are being failed. The Scottish Conservatives have been calling for drink spiking to be made a specific offence for years, but the SNP have repeatedly turned a blind eye to these calls.
“These stats should be a wake-up call for Nationalist ministers to finally show that they take this crime seriously, because the existing legislation is confusing and letting down victims. Scotland is at real risk of being left behind now that the law in England is rightly being changed. Scots enjoying the festive season deserve the reassurance of knowing that drink-spiking offenders will feel the full force of the law.”
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SNP Justice Secretary Angela Constance said this year: “We are strongly of the view that we do not need further legislation on spiking. Spiking is addressed under common law as well as under the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009, so, in my view and in the view of the government, there is not a legislative gap around that in Scotland. Legislation is there to prosecute people who do that and to imprison them for up to five years.”
Police Scotland have recorded 760 reported drink-spiking incidents since 2020.
The highest number of cases were reported in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee.
In 2025, Drinkaware figures estimated that 1.5% of adults in Scotland, approximately 67,000, reported being a victim of drink spiking.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Spiking is an abhorrent crime, and comprehensive laws are already in place in Scotland to prosecute perpetrators of spiking, including the common law offences of drugging and assault, which carry penalties of up to five years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.
“We continue to work with partners including Police Scotland to ensure a focused, proactive response to this issue, and to improve understanding of its prevalence in Scotland.”
