Crime and Policing Act 2026: New spiking offence at the centre of landmark reforms

The UK Government’s Crime and Policing Bill 2025 received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026, formally becoming the Crime and Policing Act 2026. The Act represents one of the most wide‑ranging overhauls of policing and public protection powers in over a decade, with a strong emphasis on tackling violence against women and girls, rebuilding trust in policing, and strengthening frontline enforcement.

A long‑awaited new spiking offence

Among the most anticipated provisions is the new standalone criminal offence of administering a harmful substance—including spiking. This measure responds to years of campaigning from victims, local authorities, the licensed trade, and safety organisations calling for clearer legal tools to address the rise in drink‑spiking and needle‑spiking incidents.

The new offence sits within a wider package of reforms aimed at tackling violence against women and girls, which also includes:

• strengthened management of sex offenders
• enhanced notification requirements
• new offences relating to intimate image abuse
• criminalisation of “nudification tools” and extreme pornographic content

The creation of a specific spiking offence is expected to support more consistent charging decisions, improve victim confidence, and enable targeted prevention work across the night‑time economy.

Wider measures: antisocial behaviour, retail crime and policing powers

While the spiking offence is a headline reform, the Act also introduces major changes across policing and community safety, including:

• Respect Orders to tackle persistent antisocial behaviour
• A new offence of assaulting a retail worker
• Repeal of the “low‑value shop theft” provisions
• Expanded drug‑testing powers on arrest
• New powers to enter premises without a warrant to seize electronically‑located stolen goods

The Act also implements key recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), including:

• a new statutory duty to report child sexual abuse
• a new offence of obstructing a mandated reporter
• removal of the supervision exemption for DBS checks
• grooming becoming a statutory aggravating factor

These reforms significantly strengthen safeguarding duties across regulated sectors and will have important implications for licensing authorities, children’s services, and partner agencies.

The Institute of Licensing (IoL) has been closely tracking the Bill throughout its passage, including its provisions on child sexual abuse and wider licensing‑related reforms. IoL members can continue to follow updates, guidance, and implementation developments through the IoL’s resources hub, which includes legislation trackers and developing legislation pages.