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The Problem of Rave Parties

This guide addresses problems associated with rave parties. Rave partiesor, more simply, ravesare dance parties that feature fast-paced, repetitive electronic music and accompanying light shows. Raves are the focus of rave culture, a youth-oriented subculture that blends music, art and social ideals (e.g., peace, love, unity, respect, tolerance, happiness). Rave culture also entails the use of a range of licit and illicit drugs. Drug use is intended to enhance ravers' sensations and boost their energy so they can dance for long periods.

Rave party problems will be familiar to many police officers working in communities where raves have been held; they will be unfamiliar to many other officers who have never experienced raves or, perhaps, even heard of them. In many jurisdictions, the first time a young person dies while or after attending a rave and using rave-related drugs sparks media, public and political pressure on police to take action.1

In some respects, rave party problems are unique; they combine a particular blend of attitudes, drugs and behavior not found in other forms of youth culture. In other respects, rave party problems are but the latest variation in an ongoing history of problems associated with youth entertainment, experimentation, rebellion, and self-discovery.2

Dealing appropriately with raves is difficult for police. On the one hand, police often face substantial pressure from mainstream society to put an end to raves, usually through aggressive law enforcement. On the other hand, raves are enormously popular among a significant minority of teenagers and young adults, most of whom are generally law abiding and responsible. Strict enforcement efforts can alienate a key segment of this population from government in general, and the police in particular. To be sure, raves can pose genuine risks, but those risks are frequently exaggerated in the public's mind. It is important that police recognize that most rave-related harms happen to the ravers themselves, and while ravers are not wholly responsible for those harms, they willingly assume much of the risk for them. Accordingly, rave party problems are at least as much public health problems as they are crime and disorder problems. It is critical that you establish a solid base of facts about rave-related harms in your community, facts from which you can intelligently develop local policies and responses.

The principal rave-related concerns for police are:

Rave party problems are only one set of problems relating to youth, large crowds and illegal drugs, problems police are partially responsible for addressing. Other problems not directly addressed in this guide include:

Understanding the factors that contribute to your problem will help you frame your own local analysis questions, determine good effectiveness measures, recognize key intervention points, and select appropriate responses.

Although only a little more than a decade old, rave culture and the rave scene have evolved into different forms, with variations in music styles, settings, drugs used, and ravers' ages. The rave scene is variously referred to in the literature as the "club scene" or "dance scene" (and the drugs variously referred to as "rave drugs," "club drugs" or "dance drugs"). Here we provide only a brief and general history and description of rave culture and the rave scene; the culture and scene may vary somewhat from community to community.

Raves emerged in U.K. youth culture in the late 1980s, having started amidst the party atmosphere of Ibiza, a Mediterranean island frequented by British youth on vacation.3 Rave music originated in the United States, mainly in Detroit, Chicago and New York. 4, The rave scene soon spread to other European and North American countries, to Australia, to New Zealand, and elsewhere around the world. Raves, especially those held in large clubs, have been prominent in such North American cities as Toronto, Dallas, New Orleans, Atlanta, and Tampa and Orlando, Fla.; and in British cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and London.5

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