[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…
As teen parties get bigger, riskier and more elaborate, host parents are finding there’s extra help at hand: other parents and responsible (i.e. mature, sober) adults. This is good news, as parents planning teen events need all the help they can get. They also need to realise some really important points. Key among these is…
In my view, an accident is something you have no control over. If, for instance: you’re driving a car; a large spider drops on you from behind the sun visor and you crash into a tree, that’s an accident. If, on the other hand: you’re rushing and driving at speed; you tailgate the car in…
As our communities struggle to cope with the rise of teen parties, we now have a popularity contest: 100 guests (or more) is the new way to be cool and hip! Yes, teen parties are getting bigger. I’m now regularly speaking to parents planning 150+ guest events for kids as young as 14! Yesterday I…
What’s up, Western Australia?! From what we’ve read these last few months, you really are dying to have fun. Since the start of March, 40 of your teen parties have hit the media for appalling reasons. In case you’ve been lying drunk in a ditch or king-hit by a bottle, here’s a fool’s guide to…
As I continue to lobby government stakeholders in relation to safe teen parties, yet more tragedy unfolds. Another young life wasted. A death that could have been avoided. Alcohol-related trauma is one of the biggest issues at teen events. My submission takes a holistic approach to its resolution. Sadly, it looks like it’s going to…
The mayhem caused by unplanned teen parties is alarming. With no experience of planning a successful teen event, parents are continually putting kids in harm’s way. As Managing Director of U-Nome Security and Founder of Safe Partying Australia, I’ve planned and worked at more than 700 teenage parties. Every weekend, I see first-hand exactly why…
Moon madness Last Saturday night kept me and my staff very busy. I’m not sure what the moon was doing, but every party we handled had issues. Problems that would’ve turned very ugly had security not been present Ironically, the alcohol-free events were the most difficult. This was because gatecrashers targeted both. You wouldn’t believe…
Perth has been having so many major problems with teen parties that I have to say my piece. Since the start of March, I’ve counted more than 30 teen events that have hit the media for all the wrong reasons. The most serious incident was last week when gatecrashers attacked, stabbed and hospitalised four young…
Learning curve Each teen event brings new adventures. Last weekend we had many lively youth celebrations. The first was a formal event for 280 16-year-olds, followed by several ‘after parties’ not far from the venue. Chatting to young guests is one way my security team and I build rapport. We make kids understand that we’re…