Throughout my career (13 years at Victoria Police and 6 years specialising in teen events) I’ve seen my share of dreadful things. These days, I also receive many calls from staff from other security firms. They call because they’re concerned about the types of teen parties to which their employer is sending them. I think…
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…
16-year-old Sophie* attends a gathering at a friend’s house at 4 pm. Sophie drinks a bottle of vodka while the host parents party elsewhere on the property – not caring what’s happening in their home. Sophie passes out. Her eyes roll back. Her breathing becomes laboured. Her friends become distressed and wonder if they should…
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…
Good News / Bad News I’m delighted the State Government is concerned about teenage alcohol abuse. However, I strongly feel the law described in this article is too narrow. If we fine adults who give alcohol to children visiting their homes without their parents’ permission, the ripple effect may be bigger than we think. Private…
There’s a right way and a wrong way. The wrong way costs MUCH more. Girl Talk A young girl rang and asked if I could provide crowd control for an after-formal party for 400 teens in an inner-Melbourne factory area. She couldn’t believe I was concerned when she told me: The school didn’t want…