Failure to plan = planning to fail
May 28, 2012 at 3:19 am | Posted in Security | Leave a commentTags: accident, child, crowd control, drinking, duty of care, event, injury, kid, legislation, loss, Naomi Oakley, parent, party, Party Plan Checklist, police, safe parties, security, social media, teen, teenage, teenager, tragedy, U-NOME Security, venue, youth
How to keep the cops from your door.
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 parties are causing tragedy across our nation.
I often wonder how many injuries in the home result from mismanaged parties. Though this was a mature-aged event, it highlights the risks of homes unsuitable for celebrations.
Sadly, this sort of tragedy is far from rare.
Today’s teen parties are more likely to be held in homes. This is because most public venues no longer support them.
To make things worse, there are many more teen events.
20 years ago, people celebrated turning 21. These days, every birthday from 13 on is seen as ‘significant’.
I believe this spike in birthday celebrations is due to American television now available online or via cable in most homes. Our kids are watching teen movies and music videos that promote the coolness of ‘Sweet 16’ and other birthdays.
So, with more events in more homes, we have problems.
While most private dwellings have limited public liability cover in case something goes wrong, it’s far wiser to prevent problems (and subsequent claims) before they occur.
To this end, I inspect every party venue in advance. The many issues I find and flag include:
- Swimming pools.
- Rickety balconies designed and made for domestic use only.
- Extremely steep stair wells.
- Homes in the middle of renovations.
- Homes on busy roads.
Combine these risk elements with underage drinking and explosive social networking and you literally have a recipe for disaster.
I believe that if we had legislation to protect kids at parties, it would:
- Increase community security.
- Ensure our young people return home safely.
- Minimise injury claims stemming from teen party mayhem.
- Reduce the financial impact on our community (e.g. wasted emergency service call-outs and pressure on our already-stretched health system).
You may think this is all someone else’s problem.
It isn’t.
Will you wait until your child fails to come home?
And two grim-faced police officers wake you at 3 am
with a heart-stopping knock at your door?
Naomi Oakley, Founder, Safe Partying Australia.
Crash tackle
May 22, 2012 at 1:51 am | Posted in Security | 1 CommentTags: alcohol, crowd control, drinking, event, Fence, fight, gatecrasher, kid, Naomi Oakley, neighbour, parent, party, police, prevention, safe parties, security, teen, teenage, U-NOME Security, venue, violence, youth
Take a seat. In the head!
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 the lengths they went to! Or the stuff they tried. We had kids crawling in through toilet windows little bit bigger than a post box.
The intruders we kept at bay occupied the neighbour’s yard (lovely!) and hurled garden stakes and deck chairs over the back fence.
These missiles just missed my staff member who’d confronted two intruders that had made it over the fence. As soon as they saw her, they quickly jumped back …
… Then came back with more unwanted guests!
It was sheer luck no-one was impaled.
Remote control
The event I attended had 150 21-year-olds in a fairly remote venue.
The responsible service of alcohol by bar staff was spot on, so (for once!) booze wasn’t a problem.
Our drama came from a different quarter: the frustration of waiting for a taxi.
We knew taxis would be a worry this far out of town, so we tried to call them early. But with little success.
As 30 irritated teens milled waiting in the car park and surrounding dark, the tension was evident and growing.
Though I’d assigned a staff member to observe this area, I thought it best to ring local police for a bit of presence.
While on the phone, I was told a brawl had started. I left a staff member in the venue and ran to where my other colleague was busy separating three angry (and far from little) boys.
We bundled them into waiting transport. Fortunately the police arrived soon after to help control the crowd.
We’re not always this lucky.
Far out
When choosing your party venue, find out if transport will be an issue. Remote sites are great for reducing gatecrashers. But if you go too far out, you’ll have problems moving on the guests you did invite.
Parents must also realise they can’t run a party alone. When they plan one, they need to include responsible assisting parents in the mix.
Both the ‘dry’ teen events had inadequate parent supervision and proved the most difficult to manage.
While our security handled all of Saturday’s parties extremely well, there were issues.
One event had a guest list blow out from 90 to 140 at the last minute. The other had teens pre-guzzling and smuggling booze, urinating in baths and vomiting behind couches.
When you plan a party, you need 1 parent for every 20 kids. You also need the final guest list in your hand on the Wednesday prior to avoid nasty surprises.
Be smart, or you might not be as ‘lucky’ as these hosts we pulled back from the brink.
Naomi Oakley, Founder, Safe Partying Australia.
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.
Teen parties & sexual assault
May 2, 2012 at 5:30 am | Posted in Security | 1 CommentTags: alcohol, child, crowd control, death, drinking, duty of care, event, injury, kid, legislation, loss, Naomi Oakley, parent, party, prevention, safe parties, security, teen, teenage, teenager, tragedy, U-NOME Security, venue, youth
A tragic combination.
The link between teen parties and sexual assault is real and alarming. Here’s the latest horrific story.
How many more times must this happen before we wake up from this nightmare?!
I was recently involved in a situation that resulted in a young birthday boy being charged with sexual assault at a party. Prior to this event, I warned the host parents to control alcohol and organise responsible adults to help manage the party.
Alas, my advice was ignored.
Countless times I’ve seen girls passed out from too much alcohol on vacant blocks near parties. Usually, their girlfriends abandon them to pursue their own (unsafe) sexploits in the bushes and the dark.
Teens leaving parties by themselves is also a common scenario.
In my security company, staff don’t just help parents monitor booze-related issues during an event. At the end of the night, they also engage with kids to convince them to head home with a group of friends or make alternative transport arrangements.
Unfortunately, in most cases, kids with a few drinks under their belt feel invincible.
Worse, there are sick individuals (teen and adult) eager to take advantage of them in and after these events.
Parents who host parties can minimise the risks if they provide adequate duty of care by assigning responsible (and sober!) parents to:
- Monitor bedrooms, toilets and hiding places.
- Establish how guests are getting home.
The latter precaution may prevent kids from walking home alone or entering a vehicle driven by someone who is unlicensed, unknown to them, or too intoxicated to drive.
Each weekend, as I head home at around 2 am from working at a party, I see two or three young women drunk, alone and wearing barely a stitch of clothing.
I firmly believe that legislative change in relation to teen events could prevent the horrendous situations I’ve cited.
I want my kids to get home from parties safely.
How about you?
Click here to learn more.
Naomi Oakley, Founder, Safe Partying Australia.
Who pays the mortgage?
April 26, 2012 at 12:32 am | Posted in Security | 1 CommentTags: alcohol, child, crowd control, death, drinking, duty of care, event, fight, injury, kid, legislation, Naomi Oakley, neighbour, parent, party, police, prevention, safe parties, secondary supply, security, teen, teenage, teenager, U-NOME Security, violence, youth
Truth is far worse than fiction.
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 balcony will be fine for this party of 100.’
No it won’t.
‘We’ve had a stern talk to our son and he said they won’t drink much.’
Yes they will.
‘Our son thinks we don’t need security.’
Yes you do.
‘Our daughter doesn’t want the drinks managed.’
When we find two half-naked girls passed out behind the property, we call an ambulance.
‘They’re a quiet bunch.’
No they’re not.
‘They’ve promised to keep the guest list to 100.’
150 patrons later, two guests have been hit, security staff have been injured, the police are outnumbered and we need back up. Fast.
‘Do we really need to cloak bags?’
Once we start finding hidden drugs and booze, they get the picture.
Take out
This message is about keeping our teens alive.
Parents, having a party isn’t just about you and your child.
It’s about:
- Duty of care to guests.
- Responsible alcohol serving and management.
- Keeping parties safe for any staff attending.
- Looking after your neighbours.
- Ensuring kids leave your home (and get to theirs) safely.
If you don’t want to do this right or you can’t make the tough decisions to make it happen,
DON’T HAVE A PARTY!
Or the next teen death may be on you.
Parents must be made accountable.
We need legislative change.
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.
Teen dreaming
February 29, 2012 at 9:42 pm | Posted in Security | Leave a commentTags: alcohol, child, crowd control, drinking, duty of care, event, kid, legislation, Naomi Oakley, nightmare, parent, party, police, safe parties, teen, teenage, teenager, U-NOME Security, venue, youth
Don't turn your child's party into a nightmare.
I’m concerned at the growing number of licensed venues being used for teen parties. They raise issues parents need to know.
Venues see teen events as easy money, but rarely convey the legal implications to parents.
Two weeks ago, another gatecrasher horror story hit the media.
A venue is liable for the event it hosts. It risks massive penalties for breaching liquor laws.
I recently handled a 16th birthday at a tennis club. There were huge problems with 16 and 17 year olds accessing alcohol via friends.
Had Police or Commission for Gambling & Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) Compliance Inspectors turned up, the party would’ve instantly been shut down.
A disaster for the birthday girl.
These authorities often go undercover to do random venue checks. So you never know when they’re going to pop up.
Bum steer
I spoke with Police about my tennis club drama.
They said it wasn’t something I should worry about, as it related to the venue.
This didn’t sound right to me.
If I’m asked to send my staff to control a teen event, I research the venue ahead of time for my client to see if it’s suitable and safe.
So I called VCGLR and found that my suspicions were correct.
Tangled web
Most licensed venues wishing to host teen parties require a specific limited licence to do so.
If a tennis or bowling club has a club licence, only a member of the club (or their relative) can host a party. On the day, every person attending must be signed in by the member.
You also need a ratio of one responsible adult for every ten underage teens to ensure they don’t drink.
Football clubs have a different type of licence that permits underage kids at the venue until a set time (e.g. 11 pm) after which they must leave. This applies to awards nights and parties.
If a licensed cafe hosts your party, the above ratio of adults to teens applies. Parents MUST supervise all guests and ensure no underage alcohol consumption occurs.
Better safe than sorry
As you can see, it’s complicated.
In short, if you want to host a teen party at a sporting club, cafe or anywhere else with a liquor licence, you should contact VCGLR (or the relevant liquor licensing commission in your state) for accurate information.
While you’re at it, get them to email the info in writing, so you have all the details of your enquiry. You may need it.
The best way to avoid this tangled web is to use venues that don’t have a liquor licence.
Unfortunately, with teen parties, this leaves only private homes and limited public venues like halls.
If you’re a parent seeking a practical way to handle alcohol at teen parties, drop me a line and I’ll send you information about our ‘booze bag’.
It’s a proven method that can be used anywhere kids bring booze.
Naomi Oakley, Founder, Safe Partying Australia.
As thick as two parents
January 17, 2012 at 3:29 am | Posted in Security | 5 CommentsTags: alcohol, crowd control, duty of care, event, fight, kid, legislation, Naomi Oakley, parent, party, Party Plan Checklist, police, prevention, safe parties, secondary supply, security, teen, teenage, teenager, U-NOME Security, venue, violence
Are you really that dumb?
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 I walk them through my checklist:
- Physical issues of the venue.
- Guest list management.
- Food.
- Police notification.
Everyone’s smiling and supportive.
Until we reach the topic of alcohol.
Cracking the sads
While vocally supporting my alcohol recommendations, the parent’s (hitherto constant) nodding becomes irregular.
The teen breaks eye contact with me and starts glaring at her parents – trying to get their attention.
I describe the best way to provide duty of care to guests: by labelling all alcohol for responsible adults to monitor and control.
The teen becomes sullen, acquires the “cat’s bum look” and stares fiercely at the floor with arms crossed.
I leave the home knowing that at this party, the tail will wag the dog.
NOT a good thing!
Ruining the roost
Within two days, the parents backflip and decide to follow their child’s wise alcohol recommendation: to let all kids bring and drink all they want.
From this moment, the party is doomed.
All that remains is for me, my staff (and perhaps the media) to witness the carnage.
Here’s a breakdown of a recent breakdown. This account is true (and indicative of dozens more).
Countdown to destruction
Guests bring vast amounts of alcohol. Parents are amazed at how much is coming onto their property. (REALLY!)
At about 11 pm, teens start to stagger round the grounds.
A few fall face-first into dog crap.
More start spewing party pies and fairy bread (in that order).
By the time my team and I take control, we have ten teenagers in a room hugging buckets and throwing up.
The parents actually think it’s … FUNNY. That emptying buckets of vomit is laughable. A reaction which, being a parent myself, is beyond my comprehension.
Towards night’s end, kids get abusive and want to fight us, the parents and each other.
At this point, the hosts demand that we risk injury by throwing out the very guests they’ve let get intoxicated; even if it means they may not make it home. Kids walking home from parties is another whole (horrific) post.
I find it tragic that parents who refuse to control alcohol or show duty of care also shirk their responsibilities when things turn ugly.
Rewind
This entire situation can be avoided if parents get some backbone and stop trying to be their teen’s best friend.
It really isn’t rocket science:
- Their house.
- Their mortgage.
- Their rules!
I’m sure if the Coroner called you to explain why you let a teen get so drunk that she choked on her own vomit or died crossing the road, you’d wish you’d listened to me.
My advice isn’t designed to annoy people.
It’s to ensure parties are safe.
Duty of care is your responsibility.
The police can’t help you, as the new minor supply laws don’t cover BYO grog.
So parents,
GROW UP!
Naomi Oakley, Founder, Safe Partying Australia.
The facts of life & death
January 4, 2012 at 3:59 am | Posted in Security | 2 CommentsTags: alcohol, crowd control, duty of care, event, injury, kid, legislation, Naomi Oakley, parent, party, police, prevention, safe parties, security, teen, teenage, teenager, U-NOME Security, youth
Without data, we’re dead in the water.
I believe out-of-control teen parties are an epidemic. If police start keeping data on them, I’m certain we’ll see improvement. Alas, no Australian police force does.
I’ve sent formal requests to the worst-affected states for police to keep figures for three months:
- Queensland and Western Australia are reviewing my applications.
- Victoria ‘Can’t support anonymous data gathering’ but is happy to give me anecdotal evidence.
- Despite my repeated efforts, New South Wales and the Northern Territory are yet to respond.
Go figure!
Supporting statistics will show how big an issue teen parties have become. We must capture this data so we can all understand exactly:
- How much emergency services time is wasted on out-of-control events.
- The impact they’re having on our community.
- The injuries teens are sustaining.
I’m confident the data will show governments that today’s limited teen and parent education is NOT hitting the mark.
I’ve long believed legislative change is needed to prevent more injury to our kids and communities.
Parents must be held accountable for poorly planned events. Councils must adopt a by-law to foster safe teen events.
Empty threats
You’re probably aware of Corey Worthington’s fiasco. The threat of his being fined $19,000 was just that – it hasn’t happened!
In March 2011, a hacker promoted a party via Facebook. When 200,000 people said they’d attend, police shut it down. They also said the hacker would be charged – that hasn’t happened either.
Right now, the only way we hear of out-of-control teen events is via media reports. Here are just two parties, in two states, in ten days: NSW and WA.
Like most parties gone wrong, they both had the same old recipe:
- No planning.
- No alcohol restriction.
- No security.
You can bet your bottom taxpayer dollar the host parents were first on the phone screaming for police to clean up their mess.
And media reports cover only a small fraction of bad events.
A better way
Last week I assigned staff to eight teen parties. All had the same organised plan. The plan we’ve used at more than 700 successful events. The plan that’s on my submission.
Not one of the events we handled had any trouble, impacted the community or required any emergency services response.
It’s time we got serious about this lethal issue.
Let’s get our facts straight, so we can stop chasing our tails!
Naomi Oakley, Founder, Safe Partying Australia.
Naomi Oakley
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