ID plan to nab drink spikers

A bar on Auckland's Ponsonby Rd strip will ask men to show identification if they leave the premises with a "dazed" looking woman, because of fears of an increase in drink spiking.

The hardline approach is being adopted at Sponge Bar after what manager Richard Nathan believes is the first case of a spiked drink at the popular nightspot.

A woman who had had only a few alcoholic drinks began feeling sick then passed out for several hours in her boyfriend's car.

Her boyfriend was a Sponge barman and knew she had drunk very little. Although the woman was not injured, Mr Nathan said he wanted to take a pro-active approach to keep customers safe.

Any men leaving the bar with a woman who appeared dazed would be asked for identification and their details would be kept on record.

"If they are up to anything dodgy I don't think they will hang around, and if anything was reported in the future we have a record."

The move was cautiously welcomed by Louise Carroll, chairwoman of the Drug Rape Trust, but she said much more needed to be done.

"Anyone with fake ID, or an accomplished serial offender, will still be able to leave with a possible victim," she said. "Anything that can be done to prevent this crime should be encouraged, but better measures around education of bar staff need to be employed."

Mr Nathan said staff would be briefed on what to look for and how to deal with suspicious behaviour.

Extra cameras had been installed in the bar to cover blind spots and staff would be told to approach any women who appear dazed or unwell, to reinforce the message.

"To the best of my knowledge this is the first suspected case at Sponge," Mr Nathan said.

"But we acknowledge the fact that drink spiking is out there and on the increase again. We are proactively taking the lead against drink spiking by implementing these tougher security measures."

Mr Nathan, who has managed Sponge Bar for two years, said he did not believe any man would be offended if asked for identification.

"If he is legitimate and has nothing to hide, he should be happy that we are doing this," he said.

An email circulating "urban myths" about date rape drugs at Sponge was untrue, Mr Nathan said.

It has been sent to the Herald several times. It warns of drug rape gangs who are spiking drinks with both Rohypnol and Progesterex, which it says is a permanent sterilisation drug. In fact, it does not exist.

"[The email] is creating a lot of paranoia, but it ... does not appear to be true," said Mr Nathan.

Ms Carroll said there were no New Zealand statistics on the number of drink-spiking incidents or drug-assisted sexual assaults, but health authorities and rape counselling agencies agreed it was on the rise.

"There needs to be a step up in what's being done nationwide, with better education for bar managers, staff and patrons."

Other measures to counter the problem include Victoria University students putting stickers on unattended glasses warning the owner their drink could have just been spiked, and inner-city Auckland bar Deschlers providing a "check-in" service for smokers to leave their drinks safely.