Around 90% of teen parties go off the rails because BYO alcohol isn’t controlled as it’s brought onsite. The host/parent who manages this common problem is almost there. Yet the remaining 10% of teen events fail because of a different problem: gatecrashers. I’ve worked hundreds of teen parties. I’ve had gatecrashers threaten to cut my…
I’m concerned at the growing number of licensed venues being used for teen parties. They raise issues parents need to know. Venues see teen events as easy money, but rarely convey the legal implications to parents. Two weeks ago, another gatecrasher horror story hit the media. A venue is liable for the event it hosts.…
I’ve taken security briefs for hundreds of teen events. There’s a moment at which I know I’m dealing with parents who are weak, stupid or both. Here’s how it goes. Happy families Parents ask me to visit their property to discuss safety and security measures. Their teenager is often present. It all starts well as…
I believe out-of-control teen parties are an epidemic. If police start keeping data on them, I’m certain we’ll see improvement. Alas, no Australian police force does. I’ve sent formal requests to the worst-affected states for police to keep figures for three months: Queensland and Western Australia are reviewing my applications. Victoria ‘Can’t support anonymous data…
Yet more teenagers died this week. Seven teens left a Halloween Party in a stolen car and came to grief. Just 24 hours prior to this, a teenage girl left a party, opted not to get picked up by her parent and got into a boy’s car instead. Now she’s dead too. Incredibly, it seems…
Another party went feral last week. This time in the well-heeled Melbourne suburb of Kew. The host parent had called me earlier, but baulked at my $500 quote for full event security. When I sent one of my staff to watch the night go off the rails, he saw plenty more than $500 worth of…
Even when I warned him his party would spiral out of control, a Wheelers Hill kid ignored my advice and held a party last weekend. As I predicted, it turned ugly. And the emergency services response cost tax payers (you and me) a small fortune. Words of warning The boy rang me last Thursday to…
We hear a lot about ‘senseless violence’. But when kids get injured at parties, it’s not the violence that’s senseless. It’s the parents. With prior planning, parties needn’t suffer any violence. To me, ‘senseless’ is someone stabbing you in the street. Car accidents aren’t senseless. Most are due to speed, alcohol, fatigue or other driver…
Nasty Surprise After my recent one-hour interview with the Member for Doncaster, Mary Wooldridge, it was discovered that the secondary supply law due to come into effect in Feb 2012 will NOT include BYO alcohol at teen parties. In my experience of planning and protecting 700 teen events, most problems have been with drinks brought…
Heavy Duty Last weekend I assigned ten of my staff to a youth event. It was a skate festival, followed by live acts – including a heavy metal band. An hour before this band came on, organisers warned me to put my people on high alert. Why? Because the kids were about to become extremely…