The west ain’t the best!
May 15, 2012 at 3:50 am | Posted in Security | Leave a commentTags: bottle, child, crowd control, event, fight, gang, injury, kid, legislation, Naomi Oakley, parent, party, police, prevention, safe parties, security, teen, teenage, teenager, tragedy, U-NOME Security, venue, violence, youth
Heading to a sad state of affairs.
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 departing guests.
These figures show that emergency service providers are being tied up unnecessarily every weekend.
Dealing with teen party chaos is stopping units from attending (or preventing!) more legitimate jobs such as road accidents, serious assaults and other crimes.
I shudder even to estimate the cost of using our precious police and ambulance services to clean up the messes stupid parents create!
Western Australia’s long coastline and party-friendly climate have a dark side: WA ‘leads’ the nation in teen party mayhem.
As a result, this otherwise impressive State must make radical changes in relation to teen events.
You may think I’m like a computer virus – always popping up in your face.
But if your child doesn’t make it home from their next party, you’ll wish someone (anyone!) had answered these vital questions I keep raising.
Every single party drama I’ve read about could have been avoided if we had suitable legislation in place.
It’s crazy …
You need a permit to own a dog, dig a pool or build a verandah.
Yet you don’t need a permit to responsibly plan and manage an event that ensures the safety of guests, neighbours and the community.
The days of ‘quiet’ teen parties for up to 100 kids are over.
Make a stand, WA, before it’s too late!
Naomi Oakley, Founder, Safe Partying Australia.
Underage underwear
May 7, 2012 at 5:25 am | Posted in Security | Leave a commentTags: alcohol, bottle, drinking, event, kid, Naomi Oakley, parent, party, prevention, safe parties, security, teen, teenage, teenager, U-NOME Security, venue, youth
The enemy within.
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 there to keep them out of harm’s way.
In return, they often share small but important pieces of information to help us with our next event. They realise that passing on these titbits may well help us save a fellow teen from serious injury as a result of intoxication.
The information below will help parents manage any teen event that’s alcohol free. I’ve learnt these things the hard way, but that doesn’t mean you have to. In fact, I’d much prefer you to take this free advice here and now!
Problems & solutions
Boys bring hip flasks in their jacket side-pockets.
Ask them to remove their jacket and pull out all the inside pockets. Once you’ve found the hip flask, empty it, label it and store it safely for return after the event.
Even after cloaking all bags (including large clutch bags) girls smuggle in small bottles of booze. They wear big skirts and tape the bottles to their bodies. They also seal spirits in zip-lock plastic bags and hide them in their bras, panties … and beyond. It really is like bringing contraband into prison!
As you can hardly frisk or strip-search female guests, the only way to combat this subterfuge is to check toilet bins for alcohol packaging. Girls commonly frequent toilets in groups to retrieve their stashes.
Kids of both genders scull heavy spirits a few minutes before entering an event. They don’t present as intoxicated until 30 minutes later – well after they’re inside.
This situation is hard to counter. But if you have enough responsible parents helping you control the event by patrolling your perimeter, you can keep this (and indeed all these issues) to a minimum.
Conclusion
In these violent, fast-changing (and increasingly litigious) times, I strongly advise anyone planning a teen event to engage professional security staff to help manage it.
Especially if you don’t have enough mature, sober ‘grown-ups’ on your side.
If you’re foolish enough to go it alone, today’s teens will take you to the cleaners!
Naomi Oakley, Founder, Safe Partying Australia.
Gatecrashers – a protected species!
March 13, 2012 at 9:56 pm | Posted in Security | Leave a commentTags: alcohol, bottle, cell phone, crowd control, death, drinking, duty of care, event, kid, legislation, mobile phone, Naomi Oakley, parent, party, police, prevention, safe parties, security, teen, teenage, teenager, U-NOME Security, venue, violence, youth
Today’s gatecrashers: faster, smarter & potentially lethal.
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 throat.
Here’s my gatecrasher spotter’s guide – collated from years of (very nasty) experiences.
Common gatecrasher characteristics
- Teenaged.
- Wears a cap (usually backwards).
- Carries a backpack (with clinking booze).
- Smells of alcohol.
- Is often smug.
- May carry an item that can be used as a weapon (e.g. empty bottle, garden tool).
Common streetwise (smart-arse) remarks
- ‘We have a Facebook invite.’
- ‘We aren’t coming into [INSERT HOST NAME]’s party.’
- ‘We’re just waiting out the front for [INSERT NAME].’
- ‘It’s a free country; we can stay here.’
- ‘You aren’t the police.’
- ‘We’ll have our own party.’
- ‘We have more people coming to our party.’
Caution
While determining gatecrasher issues is extremely difficult, you can assess your risk.
For instance, your chance of gatecrashers increases dramatically if:
- Your venue is close to shops or a railway station.
- Other parties in the area have had gatecrashers.
- Your guests live locally.
Phone a million friends
Mobile phones are the real killer. Most guests carry one – with SMS or social media access to their mates.
The best counter is automatic mandatory cloaking of all bags (including clutches) on entry.
You can also spread the word that anyone caught inviting people via mobile will be asked to leave.
Yet this doesn’t stop guests carrying phones in their pockets.
If a guest is standing near a fence, continually on the phone, you can be sure they:
- Have told others about your party.
- Are waiting to help them breach a weak point in your perimeter.
Solution
Parents hosting teen parties have a duty of care to provide a safe environment for guests.
Incompetent amateurs and overconfident adults CAN NOT stop a party from rapidly getting out of hand due to gatecrashers.
On the other hand, experienced, professional crowd controllers:
- Check guests via a written list.
- Monitor entry and do property walk-throughs.
- Patrol surrounding streets.
This is really important. I can’t stress it enough.
If you spot kids hanging round and can’t get them to move them on, call the Police immediately. A few kids can increase fivefold in just 20 minutes.
And if you think gatecrashers are just children out for a bit of fun, think again: today’s parties can be fatal.
Gatecrashers know what they want, and are well-versed in getting it.
They’ll run rings round you.
Conclusion
Parties go out of control because parents don’t take charge and plan.
If parents can’t be bothered, it falls to councils.
Why? Because of the destruction these events are wreaking on our communities.
There are no excuses.
And the answer is right here.
Action?
Gatecrashers are certainly a vile breed.
But cop this: it’s not an offence for them to enter your property!
While I can tell you how to spot and stop them, I can’t explain why our laws protect them.
That’s up to our leaders.
Which means it’s up to you.
Naomi Oakley, Founder, Safe Partying Australia.
Death of the Party
February 5, 2010 at 5:36 am | Posted in Uncategorized | 1 CommentTags: bottle, crowd control, death, energy drink, fantasy, gamma hydroxybutyrate, GHB, grievous bodily harm, kid, loss, marijuana, Naomi Oakley, nightmare, parent, party, Party Plan Checklist, prevention, safe parties, teenager, tragedy
GHB = Final Fantasy. Photo by Cynergist.
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 used to be the domain of people aged 20 and over. Today’s users are getting younger and younger.
Parents must be aware and vigilant. As long as we ignore this problem, teenagers will continue to harm and destroy themselves.
Parties need proper security. Parents and professional crowd controllers can prevent tragedies like this.
Experience
As a former police member and professional crowd controller, I worked many private parties.
I encountered pills, marijuana, liquid drugs and energy drinks (which are far more dangerous than they sound).
With responsible adults supervising an event and observing guests, trouble can be stopped before it starts.
Using clear plastic containers makes it easy to identify alcohol.
Preventing young guests from helping themselves to (what appears to be) alcohol is also vital.
Back packs, sports bags and other large bags often carry large amounts of alcohol to parties. Drugs can be concealed in small cavities.
Solutions
Based on my public and private sector experience, I created a Party Plan Checklist.
Experience has since shown that using this list effectively deters drug use at parties.
I’ve also tabled a legal framework to control private parties.
I firmly believe all these measures are needed to protect young people from today’s deadly dangers.
Naomi Oakley, Managing Director, U-NOME Security Communication Specialists.
Hard Day’s Night
January 17, 2010 at 10:44 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 4 CommentsTags: bottle, crowd control, event, fight, gang, kid, knife, Naomi Oakley, parent, party, police, private school, public school, security, syringe, U-NOME Security, venue, violence, youth
Alcohol in, brains out. And not a parent in sight! Photo by FlySi.
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 pockets.
Suddenly, one guy punched my staff member in the face while another lunged towards me, hands raised, as if about to assault me too.
As we restrained them and ejected them from the premises, they threatened to come back with 20 more guys. An hour later, they did. We observed them loitering about ten houses away. Fortunately, they didn’t try to enter the party.
This group (aged 13 to 17) began intimidating innocent passers by. One young teenager told me they’d hit someone on the head with a beer bottle.
Then fighting broke out all over the street. Cars had to stop or swerve to avoid hitting bodies. I watched and wondered who’d get hurt and how many vehicles would be damaged.
Twenty minutes later, the local police arrived and made their presence felt. All things considered, they achieved a reasonable result from a very bad situation.
I’m sure the neighbours were terrified. Only when the fighters eventually dispersed did some property owners venture out.
It was amazing: a place so nice during the day turned evil at night. I’ve worked hundreds of events in all different areas, but this one was a shocker – like a disaster movie!
When I spoke with the police, they attributed the area’s problem to a mix of private and public schools and an influx of gangs.
My question is: where do these kids’ parents think they are? It’s just not good enough to blindly accept that little Tommy is ‘going over to someone’s house’.
I firmly believe parents should ask more questions and keep tabs on their children.
Do you agree?
Naomi Oakley, Managing Director, U-NOME Security Communication Specialists.
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