North Vancouver teenagers looking for a big hurrah to kick off their last year of high school are being warned by police that bush or park parties will be shut down.
Starting five years ago North Vancouver RCMP noticed a pattern every Labour Day weekend: a mass of teenagers on the eve of their Grade 12 year who were meeting up in the parks near their high school.
“And really just party all night long under the influence of drugs and alcohol and cause damage to property or injuries or fights,” said RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Richard De Jong, of these non-sanctioned pre-grad parties where minors were issued violation tickets for possessing alcohol when the police showed up.
There were no major local incidents involving partying teenagers last Labour Day, as any plans were thwarted by strategic policing with support from the North Vancouver School District, say the RCMP.
De Jong said parents play a key role in all of this and conversations should be had with their teenage children about poor choices and negative consequences when it comes to drugs and alcohol.
“The message is: celebrate your 12 years of schooling, but do it safely and wisely and really don’t bring discredit to your school or yourself.”
