Tempe council subcommittee will address drink spiking at bars, other nightlife venues

A new Tempe City Council subcommittee will address the issue of drink spiking in bars, restaurants and other nightlife venues.

Councilmember Randy Keating says the committee will collaborate with the Tempe Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Tempe Authority, Arizona State University and Tempe police to recommend ways to educate the public and prevent instances of drink spiking.

“We always kind of say that Tempe leads on these problems, and this is something that has not been addressed yet as far as I can tell in the state of Arizona," said Keating.

A part of the problem the city will seek to address is reporting drinking spiking incidents to law enforcement.

Keating says a goal of the subcommittee, which was proposed at an April 24 council meeting, is to educate the public participating in Tempe’s nightlife scene.

“I want to make sure that there are other resources available to those at work in the industry, those that frequent Tempe for nightlife, that they have all the information they need, they have the protections that they need to enjoy a night out in Tempe or to work a shift in Tempe," Keating said.

According to a report cited by Tempe, roughly 3 out of 4 students either have been drugged or know someone who has been drugged by spiked drinks.

But additional research by Anglia Ruskin University found only 1 in 10 drinking spiking cases are reported to law enforcement.