UK Police are Smart - No Raves getting broken up

Klover · #1 9.5.2008, 12:05 am

Original Report: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

A police force has sparked fury by admitting it is powerless to break up illegal raves - because it's too dark when the party is in full swing.

Chief Inspector Gill Ellis, of Kent Police, blamed the lack of action on "health and safety" regulations when tackled by locals whose lives are blighted by the noisy all-night drug-fests in a wooded property around Sevenoaks.

Chief Supt Ellis told a meeting of concerned residents that it was not safe to disperse revellers in remote locations when it was dark - insisting safety regulations meant officers had to wait until sunrise to break up the bashes.

And the force said it could be dangerous to disperse ravers because they may get into their cars to drive home while still high on drink and drugs.

But one district councillor pointed out a bash in March, which took place at Longspring Woods near the village of Shoreham, had been allowed to go on until 1pm the following afternoon - keeping villagers awake all night.

People living in surrounding villages, many of them elderly, had tackled police over the problem because they were fed up with ear-splitting dance music and open drug taking.

Chief Supt Ellis told the meeting: "We will wait until daylight hours for reasons of health and safety before making interventions."

But baffled Sevenoaks district councillor Colin Dibsdall said a rave in March had not been dispersed until after lunch the day after it began.

He said today: "I would have thought once daylight came they could have gone into the site and turned it down or off."

Officers will have to wait until sunrise to break up the bashes

Cllr Phil Hobson, an IT consultant in his early 50s, said: "It's ridiculous that a rave would be allowed to go on all night and into the afternoon.

"Several residents were calling our local police contact, but a number of them could not even get through. As a result the police have logged about six calls, but I know there were plenty more.

"The biggest problem is lack of sleep. On that night there were probably about 500 people who were kept awake.

"There about 1,000 dwellings in the vicinity that could be effected at any given time, depending on the direction of the wind.

"What the police told us is if a rave is happening and they don't know about it significantly in advance they can't get the man power there to stop it.

"I think it is disgusting. The police are there to catch criminals and stop illegal activity.

"We know some people came from as far away as Somerset which means that they must have had several hours' notice about the rave.

"So why then, with so called 'Intelligence Led Policing' which has replaced officers on the street, are they not able to find out about them?

"The ravers sometimes leave a mess of rubbish on the property, which is believed to be owned by a landlord who lives somewhere else in the country.

"The wood is close to the M25 - which means about 15 million people live within an hour and a half's drive away."

Pensioner Beryl Carman, 61, said: "All night it is just 'boom, boom, boom'. We don't even live that close to the woods and we can hear the music loud and clear.

"I have lived her for 29 years - but we have only had this problem for the last few. We have had quite enough of it."

Retired engineer Clive Evans, 66, said: "We couldn't believe what the police came out with - I've never heard so much rubbish in all my life.

"How on earth can fully trained police officers be worried about forcing a bunch of hippies and druggies to go home? "What sort of thing did they expect to have to do when they signed up for the police force?"

prematurecstasyboi · #2 9.5.2008, 12:13 am

kind of makes me sad the residents wont listen to the facts that it would be safer for everyone to just wait till morning. put some ear plugs in, turn on ur own music. they would rather we drive home rolling or drunk rather then them take 5 more minutes to fall asleep

Derly · #3 9.5.2008, 12:22 am

Quote:

noisy all-night drug-fests

I so wish we could fix that stereotype, but I'm not really helping that problem in any way.

Anyways I hella want to hit up a renegade like one what they describe. After watching some of "Beyond the Rave," from myspace sounds like that series captures the rave scene over there pretty accurately.

sam_138 · #4 9.5.2008, 1:59 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klover

And the force said it could be dangerous to disperse ravers because they may get into their cars to drive home while still high on drink and drugs.

That's what I think.
Better all together partying than on the streets.

Derly · #5 9.5.2008, 2:01 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by sam_138

That's what I think.
Better all together partying than on the streets.

What do you do when someone gets pissed and walks out there with their shotgun in tote, and a really angry mood?

MommaShorty · #6 9.5.2008, 3:20 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klover

And the force said it could be dangerous to disperse ravers because they may get into their cars to drive home while still high on drink and drugs.

I remember I went to a HUGE party a couple of years ago, everyone was drinking, there were some hard drugs going on...but we were making sure people weren't leaving drunk, most people there were either going to stay there, sober up, or wait for their sober driver.

The cops busted it at around midnight-1am

and everyone dispersed, we tried to stop them. ALOT of bad things happened that night. A lot of accidents, a lot of tragedies. And everything would have been just fine if the cops didn't break it up. Kids died that night. A cop at one point yelled at me and said it was all our fault for not being responsible and looking out for our friends. (I felt odd because I wasn't from that town and knew nobody-don't ask how I get to these parties haha)

But I just wanted to punch the cop in the face...because we DID have our shit together. If no cops rolled by, not a single drunk person would have left that house driving that night.

Derly · #7 9.5.2008, 3:39 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by MommaShorty

I remember I went to a HUGE party a couple of years ago, everyone was drinking, there were some hard drugs going on...but we were making sure people weren't leaving drunk, most people there were either going to stay there, sober up, or wait for their sober driver.

The cops busted it at around midnight-1am

and everyone dispersed, we tried to stop them. ALOT of bad things happened that night. A lot of accidents, a lot of tragedies. And everything would have been just fine if the cops didn't break it up. Kids died that night. A cop at one point yelled at me and said it was all our fault for not being responsible and looking out for our friends. (I felt odd because I wasn't from that town and knew nobody-don't ask how I get to these parties haha)

But I just wanted to punch the cop in the face...because we DID have our shit together. If no cops rolled by, not a single drunk person would have left that house driving that night.

Yea I was at a huge party one night too. Tripping on White motorola's (2c-b), and I was out on a bike path waiting to watch a fight and jump in for a friend incase the other guy's buddies jumped in. We see a few cop cars go by and then we realize they're rolling to the party. We watched they knock on the door and open it, and then we hear kids jumping over fences and all scattering. Later we find out they just booted everyone telling them "find a ride." Well a hell of a lot of kids left drunk as fuck, and two of my friends I brough from college ran. They left their cellphones in my car and I had no idea where the fuck they went. Two hours later they come back drunk as fuck still.

I can't imagine if they got lost that night. Luckily though nothing bad happened, other than my friend having to pay to fix some fences that kids jumped over.

Zharen · #8 9.5.2008, 4:31 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klover

Original Report: [
And the force said it could be dangerous to disperse ravers because they may get into their cars to drive home while still high on drink and drugs.

It's about time one police force in this whole fucking world finally figured that out.

Klover · #9 9.5.2008, 4:34 am

reminds me of tickle at taste test.

and yes shorty you are very correct

dannyg · #10 9.5.2008, 4:20 pm

I think raves are legal now in the UK? At least I thought they were.

Klover · #11 9.5.2008, 7:15 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by dannyg

I think raves are legal now in the UK? At least I thought they were.

Technically if you've got a permit, a business permit, and the venue owners permission(plus other permits depending on the event, like fire permit, vending permit) then raves here are Legal as well. What goes on in them drug wise, not so much.

Its all a matter of Night life zoning, property ownership, how the state/county/city handles businesses, and some other stuff.

They could decree that "Raves will not be broken down" but against the things I mentioned, without the permits, undergrounds are still technically against the law.
Cops here and elsewhere do not really mind about the underground party itself, more-so how its being handled.

Alcohol
Noise Complaints
Rowdiness of Participants
And obviousness of drug use

those four are most likely what gets undergrounds shut down here.

I've been at an underground where they had helicopters, squad cars, and a cop inside, but the party went on because none of the above were there.