Michael van Wanrooy, the organizer of the ‘Dope’ youth party where three teenagers were caught with stabbing weapons yesterday, is not worried about the safety of his visitors. He tells that to NH News. “Nothing was taken inside. All stabbing weapons were found during the search and the persons were removed by security.”
The discovery of three stabbing weapons during last night’s party, according to Van Wanrooy, there is no reason to panic. During the party in the Alkmaar HAL 25 there were no disturbances for the rest of the evening. The stabbing weapons were found during the search by a hired security company. That is before the entrance of the room in which the party took place. “Young people are absolutely safe at our parties,” says the organizer.
Adult eyes on the room
“Nothing was taken in. All stabbing weapons were found during the search and the persons were immediately removed by security. They called the police,” Van Wanrooy explains to NH News. According to him, incidents with weapons are extremely rare during the youth parties. The professional security guards are not only there to prevent this kind of misery.
“Our target group has parents that we have to convince”
Van Wanrooy: “Our target group, young people aged 13 to 17, has parents who we have to convince of the fact that they are safe with us. As a parent, you are not there when your son or daughter is visiting friends. our parents are not there either, but they do know that there is first aid, security and enough adult eyes to keep an eye on things.”
Text continues under the Instagram post, where community police officers from team Alkmaar show some of the seized stabbing weapons.
Nevertheless, the organization of the youth parties is thinking about possibly using even more security. “Maybe we hire more security for the queue. Yesterday there was a large queue and then it may take a while before everyone is inside. Something can happen there that we don’t want,” says Van Wanrooy.
Scare moment
He also hopes that it will be a learning moment for the three teenagers. “I think it is good that they become aware of what they have done. It is still a scare moment for them. Maybe we will consult with the municipality and the police to find out what their opinion is and what they can do. now I don’t know what more we can do.”
“Maybe we’ll hire more security for the queue”
The organization does want to provide information to young partygoers in the future. “We have the target group under one roof during our parties. We are thinking about providing information about things such as drug use, for example.” That plan is currently still on the drawing board, he says. “It’s difficult. Suppose we show a quiz about drugs. A thirteen-year-old may not be concerned with that at all, but will google it at home. We don’t want that.”
Black list
The three teenagers who had to leave the party early yesterday can write the Dope parties on their stomach from now on. They will be placed on a list of people who are no longer welcome. Van Wanrooy: “We wrote down the names of the people who were caught yesterday. This is kept up to date, for example by having guests register online in advance.”
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