Summer rave madness

It's getting hot - time to take the fields and beaches people.

Wicklow (Ireland) - Herald.Ie 18 July 2012

Raves are regularly taking place on the outskirts of the capital, it has emerged.The illegal parties in remote rural and wooded areas in Wicklow have become commonplace despite efforts by gardai to stop them.The raves have been held in areas such as Devil's Glen and Mahermore Beach since 2001 and there have been several already this summer according to one organiser, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Gardai are working with locals to prevent these raves but are "playing catch-up" according to Rathnew councillor John Snell. "What you're trying to deal with now is social media. Word spreads so quickly that in more cases than not the event is over before the gardai get a handle on them."

He described the nature of the parties as "cloak and dagger kind of stuff...There aren't any posters for these events. Unless you're mixing in these circles, the normal public are not aware until some rural cottages hear the music and alert gardai."

One of Cllr Snell's key concerns was the danger of drug-taking in such remote areas. "There's no medical expertise at these raves. It's a recipe for disaster. It's only a matter of time before life is lost."

Rathdrum Councillor O'Shaughnessy wants tougher action against ravers."The Government needs to bring in stricter sanctions, maybe zero tolerance measures like high fines or custodial sentences," he said.

A rave organiser from the Roundhill area defended the events saying that licensing laws "are prehistoric..They go back to the ballroom days. Clubs here have to close at 2.30 or 3am whereas in Europe they are open until 6am. We are forced to take it into our own hands." He says ravers resent the bad name the Phoenix Park debacle has given them. "There has never been any trouble at these parties. The record speaks for itself, there have never been any assaults"


Dartmoor (England) - BBC 3 June 2012



A suspected illegal rave involving hundreds of people has been stopped on Dartmoor, police have said.
Police said more than 1,200 people and up to 500 cars gathered at Bellever Woods, near Postbridge.

Devon and Cornwall Police said they were called to the site, owned by the Forestry Commission, at about 00:30 BST.Police stopped the gathering and set up road bocks to prevent more people from attending.

A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said: "The land is owned by the Forestry Commission and no permission has been sought or granted by them to hold this rave."He added: "We're encouraging those there to leave, and we're certainly preventing any other people from attending."



Norfolk (England) - EDP 17 July 2012

Two vans containing audio equipment and mixing decks were also seized after officers were called to farmland off Yarmouth Road at about 12.35am.More than 200 people were found at the rave with about 60 vehicles, as officers worked to disrupt the event which was safely concluded by midday.

Seven men aged between 20 and 24 were arrested at the scene on suspicion of organising an unlicensed music event and were taken to Wymondham police investigation centre for questioning. One of the suspects was also arrested for taking a motor vehicle without the owners’ consent.

Three more people were arrested for offences relating to the incident. A 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of being unfit to drive through drugs while officers arrested a 22-year-old man on suspicion of criminal damage after a fence was damaged by a vehicle.

A 20-year-old woman was arrested in connection with assault after a man suffered minor injuries after being involved in a collision with a car.

Spring Free Party Season

With Spring in England in full effect, the outdoor party season is taking off. I know that some parties are an inconvenience to neighbours (though not always significantly so), but I still take some pleasure in the fact that more than 20 years after the first acid house parties of the late 1980s, and despite increasing police powers over that period, people are still taking to the outdoors to dance and party when the opportuntiy arises.

Northamptonshire rave village sealed off by police (BBC News 4 April 2010)

'A village in Northamptonshire was sealed off overnight to allow officers to break up an illegal rave. Police were called to Kilsby, near Daventry, after residents reported hearing loud music.
A police spokesman said an "effective containment" was put in place around farmland and the village, to prevent more people arriving at the rave. Officers broke up the event, made arrests and seized vehicles and sound equipment, he added'.

Rave gear to be shredded after seizure (Yarmouth Mercury, 31 March 2010)

'Illegal rave equipment worth more than £2000 is set to be destroyed after it was confiscated by police. The seized sound system will be placed into an industrial shredder at Delmonte Garage on Concorde Road in Norwich tomorrow at 3pm. Inspector Mike Brown said; “This is a clear message to rave organisers. The date is significant as it would be foolish for anyone to hold an illegal event over the Easter period.It will not be tolerated, your equipment will be seized and it will be disposed of. These events are not harmless, they cause significant disruption and cost to the rural communities they affect. For the public and landowners these actions are further evidence that we have listened to their concerns and of our commitment to stopping raves from taking place anywhere in the county.” The equipment was seized from the successful disruption of an unlicensed music event at Shotesham, Norfolk'.

Sidbury (Sidmouth Herald, 26 March 2010)

'Annoyed Sidbury residents were subjected to a sleepless night on Saturday after hundreds of people turned up to an illegal rave .Police resources were so stretched that they were unable to break the party up until 8am - four hours after the first report. Sergeant Andy Turner, of Sidmouth Police, said: "Officers attended and did their best to disperse the rave but they were unsuccessful.A lack of police resources was compounded with two serious road traffic collisions in the area. "

Around 200 ravers - some from as far away as Bristol - turned up to the party on a secluded piece of woodland called Core Copse on East Hill Strips. Music started blaring at around 1am but the first call to police was at 3.40am. Three officers went to the scene after the first report and six officers managed to shut it down at 8am. At the time of the rave police were also dealing with the search for a high-risk missing person."Saving someone's life will always take priority," added Sergeant Turner."We have shut down several raves at this location before they have started, and if it had been under normal circumstances we would have done the same this time. "Residents have our sympathy but they can be assured that we are not letting it go."

There were around six raves on the popular East Hill Strips last year and police are now looking at ways to lock them down altogether.They will be contacting local landowners, Devon County Council and other agencies to find a "long-term solution". Enquiries are continuing to find out who was in charge of the weekend rave. Details of vehicles seen at the party have been put on the police database and officers are following a number of leads. Sergeant Turner said it could be difficult to track the organisers down as it is thought different people are responsible for each event'.

Police Helicopter sent to Devon Birthday Party

Police closed down a birthday party at Sowton, Devon on 11 July, on the basis that it has been described as an all-night party on facebook. Accotding to BBC News, 17 July 2009:

Andrew Poole, who was celebrating his 30th birthday, claimed police riot vans turned up before any music was played. But police said it had been advertised on the internet as an all-night party. Mr Poole, a coach driver from Sowton, said 15 family and friends had come to the event, where they were watched by a police helicopter for about 15 minutes.

He said before they had turned on the music, four police cars and a riot van arrived and demanded the barbecue was shut down and everyone leave. The event was closed down under section 63 of the Criminal justice and Public Order Act 1994. "We were nowhere near anyone, we weren't even playing any music," he said. "What effectively the police did was come in and stop 15 people eating burgers."

According to This is Exeter his mother also criticised the police action:

Mrs Poole said: “Four cars drove down a private lane to a private field. The police helicopter was over them and all it watched them do was put up a gazebo and light a barbecue... It was a small event with no more than 10 people there when it was raided. My son had put information up on Facebook and had 17 people confirmed they were coming. If that means it is a rave, I would like to know where they get their numbers from?”

Weekend Free Parties, Oxfordshire and Devon

Police break up illegal rave (Oxford Mail, 6 January 2009)

'Teenagers accused police of being heavy-handed when they arrived in the early hours of the morning to break up an illegal rave in Carterton. According to eye-witnesses at the party, up to seven police cars, a riot van, dog handler and an ambulance were summoned to the scene at a warehouse on the South Industrial Estate off Black Bourton Road, Carterton.

More than 30 young people, mainly teenagers from the town, gathered after midnight and into the early hours of Saturday. Officers seized sound equipment and made several arrests. Police said an 18-year-old was arrested for possession of cannabis and theft of a vehicle — a fork lift truck removed from the industrial unit — and a 19-year-old for burglary. Thames Valley Police spokesman Toby Shergold said the warehouse had been broken into and a rave was set up at about 1am.

Unemployed teenager Jack Murphy, 18, of Dovetrees, Carterton, was among those arrested. He has not been charged with any offence. He told the Oxford Mail: “We all gathered there by word of mouth. There was a full sound system and a DJ. It was going okay when all these police suddenly came in. Some fighting broke out with them and there was a bit of violence. It got a bit out of hand.”

Another Carterton teenager, Chris Baughan, 19, said: “I got there after it started and there were about 30 people having a good time. Suddenly all these officers turned up. There were about six or seven police cars, a dog unit and ambulance. It looked well over the top.” He claimed one youth — aged about 15 — suffered a broken nose and was taken to hospital. It is understood the warehouse was not damaged despite being broken into.'

Police Halt Rave (Devon24, 6 January 2009)

'An illegal rave on an area of land between Honiton and Sidmouth was shut down by police. Officers were called to East Hill Strips at 2am on Saturday, December 27, after it was reported that there were between 60 and 100 vehicles on the site as well as open-air sound equipment. Traffic officers carried out a number of road-side breath tests but they all came back negative.The DJ was told to pack up his sound equipment and police were eventually able to disperse people at around 10am'.