Six Faces of Pain

Last weekend in sunny Adelaide, an ambulance attended a party to treat a girl who’d sustained a (probably alcohol-related) injury: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/teen-struck-by-car-after-running-from-ambulance/story-e6frea83-1226012328983 As this girl was being treated, she ran onto the road and got hit by a car, whereupon the party guests began abusing the paramedics. Based on my experiences as a police officer, security…

Too Cool for School

I can’t say enough about the duty of care of parents who host parties. Here’s yet another report of a party turned to crap (courtesy of Police News): ‘Police are appealing for information after a party turned ugly at Carrum Downs last Thursday night. At about 10.30pm on 20 January a group of people turned…

Safe Party Line

Your teen party questions answered. For free! I’ve written plenty of blog posts about parties gone wrong. Today I have some good news! Last month I founded Safe Partying Australia: a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to keeping our kids safe by implementing my Safe Event Laws Proposal. Today I’m launching a national online support service for…

Why Crowd Control Works at Parties

Saturday night’s party showed why crowd control is a delicate and volatile yet necessary affair.  At 9.30 pm I spotted four males sitting on a fence, six houses up from my client’s. All were drinking and using their mobile phones.  In my experience, when people hang round like this, it’s time to disperse and move…

Kids Rule?!

I was asked to look after an 18th birthday in an Eastern suburb. BYO alcohol and 140 guests. As I always do before assigning staff to an event, I met the parents several days beforehand. I inspected the property and noted some issues: Open pool in the party area. Neighbouring properties close by. Small backyard…

Out on a Limb

The Deadly Dangers of Balconies Crash! Last night in Sydney, a balcony packed with people collapsed at a teen party. Around 20 guests fell more than two metres – many sustaining injuries. Two ambulance helicopters and several road ambulances ferried them to hospital. We could have prevented it all. Prevention When my company conducts a…

Explosive Hits – Hard Facts about Energy Drinks

Frightening Trend If you have kids or run a venue, there are things you must know about energy drinks. When teens drink large quantities of energy drinks at a party, they become extremely violent in the aftermath. I’ve seen them smash property and assault people as a result of overdosing on this freely available ‘refreshment’.…

Death of the Party

Another Tragedy This week I read with utter dismay that yet another teenager had lost her life at a party which didn’t have adequate security measures. Two men also became violently ill on what’s thought to be gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB). This so-called ‘recreational’ drug has an appropriate nickname of Grievous Bodily Harm. Escalating Problem Recreational drugs…

Tragic Loss Prevention

On hearing of last weekend’s horrific car crash, I was as shocked as the rest of our community. I did some checking and learned the kids were coming home from a private party, close to the crash scene. Also confirmed was the information I dreaded: these kids were fleeing gate crashers who’d arrived at the…