The rise of the ‘hatecrasher’

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMe8OYi0c_4] Young. Strong. Spiteful. Vicious. Terrifying. When it comes to gatecrashers, I’ve seen it all. But now I’m witnessing a new level of violence – fuelled by a blind, searing hatred of everyone and everything. This disturbing shift is so pronounced, I’m calling these intruders ‘hatecrashers’. This word isn’t in any dictionary. But if…

All the Wrong Moves

  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…

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…

School of Thought

Long Way Home Recently I was contacted by a VCE (Year 12) teenager who was planning a celebration for after her formal (prom night). The event was for 300 students. The venue was in the city: 50 km from the outer eastern suburb in which these kids lived! I asked the teen why she and…

Hard Day’s Night

The party we covered last night was hard work. First we had to remove four invited guests who’d assaulted someone inside. These guys had been drinking before entering the house. As we took them out, they threatened us. One said he had a knife; another mentioned a syringe. All four had their hands in their…