The North Vancouver RCMP attended four large house parties this past weekend, all of which had more than a reasonable amount of people in attendance. 
With good intentions, the hosts of the parties used social media to invite a few close friends over. It did not take long for word to spread quickly via social media, with over sixty youth showing up at one party. These parties, located throughout North Vancouver, quickly resulted in negative actions and behaviours that attracted the attention and concern of neighbors and eventually the police.
Police dealt with several assaults along with numerous youth under the influence of alcohol. One assault resulted in a female being knocked unconscious after hitting her head on a curb.
Three of the parties were hosted by 16 year-olds whose parents were not home for the weekend
, said Cpl. Richard De Jong of the North Vancouver RCMP. The forth party had a parent present who was entirely unaware of alcohol being consumed by youth in their basement.
With warmer weather and spring break upon us, police are providing advice on hosting a house party:
- Be cautious when utilizing social media to invite friends over – ensure the list is manageable.
- Party crashing should not be allowed.
- A parent should be home during a party.
- As a parent, if youth’s consume alcohol in your home it is you who will be held responsible for any resulting consequence.
- Call police before your party is out of control, thereby reducing the potential for fights and property damage.
All too often, police see that through social media, a party of six quickly turns into sixty plus and with that comes the potential for some very serious negative consequences
, commented Cpl. De Jong.
