Party crackdown

By Callan Date
POLICE are set to crack down on the increase in wild and out of control parties throughout the City of Casey this summer.
Endeavour Hills, Hampton Park and Cranbourne have been highlighted as party hotspots by local police as they warn parents and teenagers of the dangers of having a night out over the busy Christmas and new year period.
Numerous reports of unruly, unsupervised and illegal parties in Casey have occurred over the past two months.
Police said much of the trouble had started after unsuspecting teenagers turned up to shindigs where an entry fee was being charged.
An Endeavour Hills party descended into chaos recently when about 300 youths were turned away from a DJ event.
Several police units were called to the incident, which was held at the Endeavour Hills Leisure Centre, after brawls broke out among the disgruntled crowd who refused to pay a cover charge.
Police used capsicum spray to subdue several members of the crowd who had begun fighting each other.
Casey Acting Inspector Alan Dew said police suspected a lot of underage drinking was occurring at these parties and said he was concerned that party organisers were making a large profit from hosting the events.
“In some instances some of the youths have become quite unruly and in one recent incident alcohol bottles were thrown at a police divisional van,” Insp Dew said.
“This behaviour is completely unacceptable and these parties require a large amount of police attention and cause a great deal of disruption to the community when things get out of hand.
“With text messages and internet social pages such as MySpace word is travelling quickly among young people about these parties and hundreds of youths are attending.”
Insp Dew said it seemed some parents and guardians held the view that they would rather buy alcohol for their own children than have them attempt to illegally buy it themselves or have someone else buy it for them.
“Many parents seem to be buying their kids four-packs of pre-mixed drinks thinking their children will be able to handle it when in fact they are becoming quite highly intoxicated,” he said.
On-the-spot fines for underage drinking include $54 for possession of alcohol in the street or in a public place or for being underage in a licensed premises, $645 for supplying alcohol to a minor, $161 for refusing to or giving a false name and $215 for making a false proof of age.
Police have also called on parents to play a more active role by checking whether they had adequate security measures in place to hold a party.
For information about the Victoria Police Partysafe program visit www.police.vic.gov.au or call Cranbourne youth resource officer Senior Constable Brett Owen on 5991 0612.