15 May 2024, 14:11

By Charlotte Lynch

On the frontline of Britain's spiking epidemic, LBC's Charlotte Lynch reports on how predators are hiding in plain sight, and finding terrifying new ways to target victims.

They look like two mere 'bobbies on the beat', but it's their job to spot the predators amongst the lairy crowds spilling out of the pubs and bars of London's West End.

It's Friday night in Soho. It's almost 11pm on what has been one of the hottest days of the year so far. We walk past a packed pub that resembles a Victoria Line train in rush hour - except everyone's belting out songs, pint glasses in the air.

The queue for the club opposite is heaving, and music is blaring from another. Hen and stag parties stumble out of the bars, and the smoking areas are full to bursting with people shouting over the noise. Bright pink, purple, green and yellow cycle pedicabs are lining the streets, each with their own flashing neon lights, a boom box, and a driver ready to go.

In the middle of it all, Sergeant Carl Gore and PC John Redmond are on the lookout for danger.

"We're on Operation Vigilant", Sgt Gore tells me. "We're taking proactive stops of individuals that are displaying concerning behaviour".

They're looking for anyone acting "suspiciously or nervously" towards women and girls, to prevent sexual violence by targeting those seeking to prey on vulnerable people.

Tonight, they're focusing on the underreported crime of spiking,........

© LBC