Soumission chimique : administration de psychotropes à l’insu d’une victime à des fins d’agression

Pro-active drug-facilitated crimes (DFC): a study in the Department of Forensic Medicine of Paris, France

INTRODUCTION

Proactive drug facilitated crime (DFC) is the administration of psychoactive substances (PAS) for criminal purposes without the victim's knowledge or by force. In Paris, France, patients who report suspected proactive DFC to the police are examined at the Department of Forensic Medicine (DFM) of the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital. Preventively blood and urine samples are collected but not systematically analyzed by the judicial authority. We aimed to assess the proportion of probable proactive DFC in patients examined at the Hôtel-Dieu DFM following a police report for suspected proactive DFC.

METHOD

Blood and urine samples were collected from 100 patients. Toxicological analyses were performed by the toxicology laboratory of the Lariboisière Hospital. The results were correlated with the clinical data collected at the initial and follow-up consultations.

RESULTS

At least one PAS was detected in 86% of the cases (voluntary or involuntary intake). After correlation with clinical data, 32% of the cases were classified as probable proactive DFC. In these cases, 49% of the substances identified were illicit substances (amphetamines, MDMA, etc.); 16% were benzodiazepines and related substances; 16% were antihistamines and sedatives; 14% were opioids; and 5% were antidepressants and anti-epileptics. In 90% of the cases, patients reported a voluntary ethanol consumption in the hours prior to the suspected proactive DFC.

CONCLUSION

Toxicological analyses revealed a high proportion of both probable proactive DFC and probable opportunistic DFC. Our results indicate the need to perform systematical toxicological analysis in cases of suspected DFC.

The Interest of a Systematic Toxicological Analysis Combined with Forensic Advice to Improve the Judicial Investigation and Final Judgment in Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault Cases

The conviction rate in drug facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) cases is known to be very low. In addition, the potential impact of toxicological results on the case is often not well understood by the judicial authorities. The aims of this study were (1) to obtain more knowledge concerning the prevalence of incapacitating substances in DFSA cases, (2) to create a more efficient DFSA analysis strategy taking background information into account, and (3) to evaluate the potential impact of systematic toxicological analysis (STA) on the final judicial outcome. This small-scale epidemiological study (n = 79) demonstrates that ‘commonly-used’ illicit drugs, psychoactive medicines and ethanol are more prevalent in DFSA cases in contrast to the highly mediatized date rape drugs. Additionally, via case examples, the interest of performing STA—to prove incapacitation of the victim—in judicial procedures with mutual-consent discussions has been demonstrated as it led to increased convictions. However, more attention has to be paid to ensure a short sampling delay and to get more accurate information from the medical treatment of the alleged victim. This will improve the interpretation of the toxicological analysis and thus its applicability in a DFSA case. The future is multi-disciplinary and will certainly lead to an efficient and more cost-effective DFSA approach in which STA can impact the final judgment.

Drug-facilitated crimes: definitions, prevalence, difficulties and recommendations. A review

Drug-facilitated crimes are not a new phenomenon but rather an age-old practice. However, reports of drug-facilitated crimes have significantly increased since the mid-1990s. Victims of these crimes or offences report that they were robbed or assaulted while incapacitated by a drug. Most often, these cases have involved strong central nervous system depressant drugs, which have the capability of preventing individuals from consenting to the action of the perpetrator of fighting off their attackers. For all intents and purposes, the drug acts as the offender's weapon, therefore many jurisdictions require analytical proof of its presence, which helps substantiate the alleged victim's claim. This review was undertaken to identify the evolutionary process in the current understanding of allegations of these crimes or offences, so that whoever works in this field may gain a better understanding of the complexities involved in such cases. This review provides several definitions of drug-facilitated crimes, their prevalence in European and English-speaking countries, a list of intoxicating substances, which have so far been incriminated or been suspected to be involved in these crimes or offences, some of the more common difficulties encountered in the investigation, and recommendations to improve detection of the drugs through toxicological analyses.