Showing posts with label Bedfordshire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bedfordshire. Show all posts

Thursday, September 08, 2011

Summer 2011 Police and Parties

Summer police and party news from England....

Police use taser in North West London (Harrow Observer, 7 September 2011)

'Riot police had to disperse an out-of-hand party in Harrow in the early hours of Sunday during which a man was Tasered. These members of the specialist Territorial Support Group were aiding Harrow police officers and members of the dog section in breaking up the rowdy event in Harrow View, which was attended by 200 people in a block of flats described locally as a special unit for single mothers. Revellers turned on officers as they tried to move them on, throwing bricks and bottles.

A 28-year-old man from Northolt was struck with the electrical incapacitating weapon but required no medical treatment and was subsequently arrested on suspicion of affray. He has since been bailed until a date in October. Police attended the scene around 2.30am after calls from residents and Harrow Council's environmental health officer...'

Norfolk
(Norfolk Police, 30 August 2011)

'A man has been charged under licensing legislation after police shut down an illegal rave in an area of woodland in West Norfolk over the Bank Holiday weekend. Up to 100 people were in attendance with around 20 vehicles parked nearby in an area of woodland known locally as Old Belt. Officers were dispatched to the scene and blocked possible entrances/exits and the event was safely closed down by about 6am.

Two people were arrested and sound equipment, vinyl records and a van used for the unlicensed event near Grimston were seized. 27-year-old Liam Curtis of Common Close in West Winch has been charged with carrying on an unauthorised licensable activity, namely a rave. He has been released on bail to appear before King's Lynn Magistrates Court on Thursday 22 September. A 24-year-old woman was released without charge'

Bedfordshire 1 (About My Area Bedfordshire, 16 August 2011)

'Bedfordshire Police closed down an illegal rave which took place in Sandy during the early hours of Sunday August 14, 2011. At around 12.30am, more than 200 partygoers descended on land close to the RSPB Lodge in Sandy. Members of the public alerted Bedfordshire Police and officers moved quickly to close off roads surrounding the areas and speak to the organisers of the illegal gathering who were warned that their equipment would be seized if they did not close down the event. The organisers complied with the police request and officers, with the assistance of the force helicopter, remained at the location to ensure that all equipment was removed and no one returned to the area.

Chief Inspector Neill Waring said the operation sends a warning to other organisers that Bedfordshire Police will not tolerate raves that are unlicensed by the local authority and present serious health and safety risk to revellers. He said: "The key to interrupting raves is early intervention and although in this case, the rave was already underway, local people supplied us with intelligence that helped us to identify the location and put the appropriate resources in place. We would ask the public to work with us and contact us the moment they suspect a rave may be being organised, since once they are established they are notoriously difficult to disrupt. Signs to look out for include postings on web sites, notice boards or convoys of cars going around in circles and waiting for last minute instructions on where to go. Parents should think twice about where their teenagers are going and certainly ask questions if they ask to be dropped at a dark or unusual location."

Bedfordshire 2 (Bedfordshire on Sunday, 22 August 2011)

'At around 10am on Sunday Bedfordshire Police, assisted by officers from Northamptonshire closed down a rave that had been taking place ovenright on land to the rear of Poddington airfield. Three people were arrested including two men and a 19-year-old female in addition to two men arrested on Saturday night when police attempted to prevent the rave going ahead.

Three of the four men, all in their early twenties were arrested in connection with the organisation of the event and have now been released on bail. The female and the fourth man were arrested on suspicion of drugs offences and were kept in custody. It’s in connection with Operation Extra which has the message that Bedfordshire will not tolerate illegal raves'.

[The party was by the Santa Pod drag racing track on the Bedfordshire/Northamptonshire border, see video below]

Monday, May 16, 2011

England in the Spring: police and parties

'Illegal raves thwarted by police in villages' (Bedford Today, 16 May 2011)

'Three illegal raves were thwarted by police over the bank holiday in Bedfordshire villages. The first rave was disrupted on Friday night in Lidlington at a site off Sheep Lane. The following evening officers prevented a second rave from being set up in the Steppingley area. Police intercepted a convoy of ten vehicles, three of which contained sound equipment which was seized. The drivers and passengers were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance. A third rave was closed down in the early hours of Sunday morning at a site off Cobblers Lane in Ridgmont. Officers dispersed around 400 people, while organisers were told their sound system would be seized if they did not comply with the order'.

'Sussex Police deal with three raves in 12 hours' (Argus, 2 May 2011)

'Police were called out to deal with three raves in 12 hours. About 200 people started setting up equipment for a party at Devils Dyke, near Brighton, at around 6.40pm on Friday sparking a series of calls to Sussex Police. Officers went out to the scene and had eventually moved everyone on by 9pm.

The police control centre then started getting reports of a similar sized group gathering in North Road in the city centre and around the seafront just before 9pm. Officers were drafted in to monitor the area and once again started moving the party-goers on. Most were dispersed relatively quickly although a “small hard-core” group ignored requests to go and stayed in the area until midnight.

Police were then alerted at around 12.15am on Saturday that another group of around 50 people had gathered on the Downs just north of Hollingbury. Officers were sent out for the third time to investigate and order the music to be turned off and the rave abandoned. Partygoers began to drift away and police returned to the scene several times during the night. The final few people had gone by 8.30am on Saturday'.

'Police cars attacked as hundreds party at rave on Saddleworth Moor' (Manchester Evening News, 3 May 2011)

'Hundreds of revellers descended on an isolated moor for a rave – and attacked police cars when officers tried to break up the party. The ravers are thought to have travelled to Saddleworth Moor from all over the north west after details and directions were circulated on the internet. Police were called in early yesterday. But yobs smashed the windows of two patrol cars and a third vehicle – a Ford Focus – was set alight. The blaze spread to grassland before being put out by firefighters at around 3.10am. No arrests were made as the ravers fled – but a police investigation is continuing.

The party was held in the remains of an old shepherd’s cottage off the A635 Greenfield to Holmfirth road. Ravers are thought to have arrived with booze, generators to blast out music and a tarpaulin to cover the roof of the cottage. The building, which belongs to nearby Uppermill House farm, is derelict. The land is used to keep sheep'.

'Illegal Rave Shut Down' (Diss Express, 6 May 2011)

'Police disrupted and seized sound equipment and a generator at an illegalrave in Dickleburgh last Friday. The event was reported just after 8am following concerns from members of the local community. Officers attended a field off the A140 and found the event was being run illegally and not as an official street party to celebrate the Royal Wedding. Supt Stuart Gunn said: “This event was disrupted before many had arrived at the site, largely due to the vigilance of local people who contacted police with their concerns. This is in line with Norfolk Constabulary’s firm approach to policing raves, which are potentially dangerous and disrupt those communities affected.”'