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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Last Friday was the party from hell. 140 volatile 16 year olds in a tiny house. With a pool! From 8 to 10 pm, we seized 50 assorted alcohol containers that guests had strapped to themselves. We were able to spot these on the boys, but the girls hid their booze under their skirts. Fortunately,…
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…
Last week I ran a security crew at a family home in a nice suburb. It was a 14th birthday party with no alcohol. At 10.30 pm, 20 gatecrashers (aged 15-18) turned up and tried scaling the fences to get in. My staff chased, stopped and removed them – whereupon they fled down a side…
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…