The things people say! Here are things parents commonly say before a teen party. Along with the reality. ‘We know them; they’re all nice boys.’ Then they drink. ‘The kids will be okay in the pool while they drink.’ Then we have two broken noses and a brawl at the end of the night. ‘Our…
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 don’t usually post on Sundays, but a terrifying incident last night compels me to issue a dire warning. If you’re a teen, or have a teen child, please read on. I was working at an 18th birthday party in Melbourne’s east. At 9 pm, two 16-year-old girls arrived. I noticed that one girl was…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Any gatecrashers who try to wreck the next party I protect are in for a nasty shock. Thanks to Launch Helmut Cams, I’ll be wearing a state-of-the-art camera that thugs won’t spot till it’s too late. I’ll use this camera for personal protection, and to show our community what my staff and I endure every…