A POSSIBLE underage beach party in Point Lonsdale has attracted plenty of attention for the wrong reasons, resulting in a police-issued warning for parents.<\/p>\n
Acting Senior Sergeant Dean Parrello from Bellarine police said the proposed party was for last Saturday night, on a total fire ban day, where consequences could\u2019ve been devastating.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to be a killjoy, it\u2019s not about stopping kids from having fun but it\u2019s about community safety. We\u2019ve had kids have parties in the dunes and they light fires,\u201d Sgt Parrello said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would\u2019ve been devastating if they had of got in there on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sgt Parrello said the warning issued through the Eyewatch-Geelong Police Service Area Facebook page resulted in 213 comments and 165 shares and attracted lots of \u201chaters\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said comments from various community members calling on the police to \u201clet kids have their fun,\u201d and sarcastic jabs \u201cto arrest them\u201d for being kids, were misguided.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were a lot of haters in there, but it got the message out anyway. The parties become big and when you\u2019ve got a large group of kids in one area where they\u2019re drinking, there\u2019s no doubt that there will be disagreements that turn into fights,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want kids to not have fun, it\u2019s just the danger involved when they go down there.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s dark, they\u2019ve been drinking and might decide to go for a swim so there\u2019s a risk of drowning.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest concern, though, is the risk it poses to the community if they start lighting fires and leave broken glass in the sand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sgt Parrello said a concerned parent tipped off the police who were then able to alert members of the community and parents about the proposed party.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe encourage parents to contact us, the more information we get from parents the better.<\/p>\n
We also want parents to have the chat with their kids.<\/p>\n
\u201cOften when they (party goers) leave the dunes, letter boxes are kicked over, there\u2019s a lot of noise and general disruption to the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want kids to have fun but in a responsible way and manner.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A POSSIBLE underage beach party in Point Lonsdale has attracted plenty of attention for the wrong reasons, resulting in a police-issued warning for parents. Acting Senior Sergeant Dean Parrello from Bellarine police said the proposed party was for last Saturday night, on a total fire ban day, where consequences could\u2019ve been devastating. \u201cI don\u2019t want […]<\/p>\n