Sunshine Coast RCMP are expressing concerns over the latest party they were called to involving youth and underage drinking.
On Thursday night, Sept. 24, police received a noise complaint coming from a house party on Fitchett Road near Gibsons.
Const. Ashley Taylor said when police arrived at the home they were advised by the host of the party, a 17-year-old male, that his parents were out of town and he was hosting a grad party.
"While at the party, police learned that there was an 18-year-old female inside the house who had passed out from over-consumption of liquor," said Taylor. "Police attempted to enter the residence to ensure the safety of the under-aged female but faced opposition from the host and others at the party."
Taylor said after the host continued to refuse to allow the police to enter the home, police were forced to arrest the host and entered the residence to ensure the safety of the young female.
"The female was found to be vomiting and extremely intoxicated inside the home," said Taylor. "Her guardian was contacted, picked her up and cared for her for the evening."
According to police, after arresting the youth at the scene, the party was shut down and he was released from custody. No charges were laid.
The story first appeared on www.coastreporter.net Friday afternoon, Sept. 25, where several youth posted comments over the weekend stating that this was not, in fact, a grad party, but a house party attended by a few members of the grad class. One youth who contacted Coast Reporter by phone on Monday, Sept. 28, also said it was a house party, and not a grad party.
Youth expressed frustration in their on-line comments that they felt they were "singled out" by the police and that the grad class was being treated unfairly.
In a follow-up interview on Wednesday morning, Sept. 30, Sgt. Russ Howard said police were not "picking on the grad class or trying to single them out."
"We had a complaint, we attended and when we arrived, the hosts told us it was a grad party," said Howard. "Any party involving under-age drinking and youth consuming alcohol is a concern to us. We want the kids to be safe. We don't want to be transporting kids to hospital for alcohol-related incidents. We want all the kids to have a good and safe year. If they are grads, we want them to have fun, enjoy their year and graduate. We don't want any tragic situations to occur as a result of this."
Another youth party was attended by police on B&K Logging Road during the Labour Day long weekend.
Police arrested one youth due to public intoxication, and two youths were given 24-hour driving suspensions for alcohol impairment.
A vehicle was torched towards the end of the party, which alerted police and the Roberts Creek fire department to the scene.
"I don't know where the idea came from for some youth to torch a vehicle, but that could have had dire consequences," Howard said.
