Testing kits that detect if a patron's drink has been spiked are now available at police stations in regional WA in an Australian-first initiative to understand the scale of the issue.
WA police hope the initiative will encourage more victims to come forward.
Women's Healthcare Centre CEO Gloria Moyle said drink spiking was a big problem In the state's Goldfields region.
"I do not have any actual statistics, but it is linked to many things that happen here in the Goldfields, particularly after hours," Ms Moyle said.
However, Kalgoorlie's Exchange Hotel manager Shane Tyler said the insidious practice using illegal or prescription drugs was very rare.
"In my personal experience, there has been only one patron banned permanently from our premises for a suspect attempt to spike their friend's drink," he said.
More data needed
Drink-spiking incidents were not limited to nightclubs and pubs and they were not gender specific, said Detective Inspector Stuart Hartzenberg.
The WA Police sex crime division officer, who used to be head of the Kalgoorlie detectives office, said drink spiking also happened in private settings like home parties.
"The sex assault squad, for argument's sake, had recent investigations where offenders have been charged with an array of sexually based offences where they have taken the victim back to their home, laced their drink with drugs and sexually assaulted them," Detective Inspector Hartzenberg said.
"We don't have any data, we would have to collate that over a period of time, and, because we just launched the initiative, we will capture that sort of information and produce a database from that into the future.
"These test kits will help identify issues."
Taking action against drink spiking
Detective Inspector Hartzenberg said testing was easy.
The suspected victim simply had to provide a urine sample which was then sent to ChemCentre WA for testing.
"The frontline officer you speak to at the counter would take you through an easy step by step process, which is very unobtrusive," Detective Inspector Hartzenberg said.
Reporting a suspect drink spiking incident within 48 hours gives police better chances to confirm it and prosecute the offender, if the victim decides to report the crime.
Police WA also said the tests would not be used to prosecute anyone who might have used other illicit drugs.
Detective Inspector Hartzenberg urged suspected victims to get tested.
"They think they might have made a mistake, or they think, 'Did I drink too much? I can't remember what happened'," he said.
"We want those people to know, if you are not sure, we can alleviate any worries one way or the other."
Ms Moyle said prompt testing was important to ensure individual victims received justice, but also to protect the wider community.
"These statistics can help. If we know there is a problem, we can maybe get more people on the ground. It is vital to be able to report these things to keep everyone safe", she said.
