Illegal Rave Equipment Destroyed

[Dr Bunsen]

28 June 2008 15:55

Organisers of illegal raves were today given a stark reminder of the tough line taken by Norfolk police with the destruction of seized equipment valued at more than £30,000.

A giant scrap grabber scooped up the costly speakers, sound amps and electronic equipment and hoisted it into an industrial shredder at recycling company Pearsons's centre at Thetford where they were rapidly reduced to fragments.

Norfolk Police have a zero-tolerance to illegal gatherings in the county, and a van belonging to the organiser of an unauthorised rave on farmland was also crushed so it could not be used for unlawful purposes again.

Sgt Colin Barratt, of the Breckland area team, said: “We are sending out a clear message to rave organisers that their actions will not be tolerated. Knowing their equipment will be seized and disposed of will hopefully make them think twice about holding their

illegal events and fully realise the cost.

“For the public and landowners it is further evidence of our commitment to stopping raves from taking place anywhere in the county.”

All the equipment destroyed had been seized during the successful disruption of three unlicensed events held at Drymere and Cockely Cley in September and November last year. This also resulted in seven arrests, with the people involved being banned from rave events for two years. All of those arrested were also ordered to pay compensation to the landowners.

Sgt Barratt said the tough line is certainly paying dividends as demonstrated in the western area of the county where he and his team are based.

“Last year we had in the order of 35 raves in our part of the county. This year, to date, we have only had three. The big speakers are £1,000 each and it costs £10,000 for a rig, which is the whole kit and caboodle, so it is certainly hitting them in the pocket,” he stressed.

Sgt Barratt added that the police had offered the confiscated music equipment to various charitable organisations but none had declared any interest. “There comes to the point you have just got to shred it, to prevent it being returned to people who might try and use it again at other illegal rave events,” he explained.

The recycling firm's managing director, Jo Pearson, said the shredded material would be put to good use. Salvaged metal will go for smelting and the wood will be sent to a power plant for fuel.

http://new.edp24.co.uk/assets/images/dynamicfeed/mohsenis20080629171957.jpg

[Ruff Beat Provider]

Tight!

[Playground Politics]

hahaha that policeman is having a cracking day there

[General Lighting]

unfortunately thats what East Anglia is like - both sides are stubborn and fight their corner to the end..

whats worse is that the local charities didn't even want the kit when offered it - I expect the sort of organisations what would have been offered it are places like church/council run youth clubs, and the people working there often make use of PA equipment themselves

this shows how high feelings are running - that even they would rather see this stuff destroyed to "teach the ravers a lesson" than try and reuse it for more acceptable purposes

[GiantMidget]

Madness :you_crazy

[Playground Politics]

my local church has 3 bass bins and a few mid tops in the corner, i av it to "hes got the whole world in his hands" every day

[General Lighting]

my local church has 3 bass bins and a few mid tops in the corner, i av it to "hes got the whole world in his hands" every day

not sure if you're joking but its not too far from the truth round here!

Last time I went to Mass (late 80s) it was those ropey old column speakers with no bass response but recently I've been speaking to some religious types and from what they tell me the systems in both Christian churches and some Asian places of worship are pretty hardcore these days (to the point some venues have had noise abatements!)

probably why they didn't want any of the rig, most of the religious places already got enough kit paid for by Gods children rather than ketamine deals...

[MrAHC]

fuckin cunts!

[MrAHC]

suprised that scrap company aint had any action taken agaist it...

[elretardo87]

To be honest you have to be a right spastic to get your rig actually crushed. So they probably deserved it.

I mean I think its a shame to waste sound equipment but for it to have reached teh state where the kit needs destroyed whoever owned the rig was probably just fucking things up for the rest of us.

[MrAHC]

To be honest you have to be a right spastic to get your rig actually crushed. So they probably deserved it.

I mean I think its a shame to waste sound equipment but for it to have reached teh state where the kit needs destroyed whoever owned the rig was probably just fucking things up for the rest of us.you got a point in a way.

[binge]

Mental note- start up a charity:

'Speakers and Amps for Underprivilaged Kids in Africas'

SAUKA!

[General Lighting]

suprised that scrap company aint had any action taken agaist it...

they have the option not to have their company names published (for instance when they crush scallies mini motos round your way the scrappys name is rarely mentioned) so I doubt they would have done this if they didn't have Police protection and/or good security.

I had a look at the news report on Anglia TV and there was about 10 or more uniformed officers present at the crushing, I doubt they were just there for the telly (whilst one smiled, a couple looked distinctly uncomfortable at being shown on the report) and I'm sure scrapyard workers are perfectly strong enough to pick up heavy things themselves -

it would have only taken the sarge and a couple of bobbies to oversee this operation to ensure that all the seized property was dealt with so I suspect the rest of the cops were there in case people got wind of where the kit had ended up and tried any "militant sound" type stuff

Scrapyards round here tend to have fairly sophisticated security anyway just to keep the scrap in! That particular area of East Anglia is a fairly notorious "London overspill" estate anyway where anything what isn't locked down or watched is liable to walk..

[General Lighting]

Mental note- start up a charity:

'Speakers and Amps for Underprivilaged Kids in Africas'

SAUKA!

given the long standing links between Church and Constabulary in this part of the region the cops probably did try offering it for these charities but found the Africans didn't want it - what use is electronic sound equipment when half of them don't even have basic electric supplies? plus many Africans are religious and conservative minded and consider our music scene to be a moral cesspool..

maybe this should make people realise the extent of the backlash. Our "culture" has got to a stage where its being seen as wholly destructive and leading to problematic drug use and even violence so the rest of society feel justified in taking this extreme action - and those from this region who are a bit older will remember that nothing like this happened a few years ago when parties were better run....

OK if you mostly post on here you might think its an overreaction but if you take a look at the kiddies bebo sites and the way ravers on there have been "expressing themselves" (bear in mind cops take all this bullshit at face value) its hardly surprising its come to this..

[MisterDuck]

i dont see what the point of destroying it is. surely some youth charity would have accepted it, or been sold to somewhere with a license etc.

its just a fuckin waste

[General Lighting]

i dont see what the point of destroying it is. surely some youth charity would have accepted it, or been sold to somewhere with a license etc.

the cops actually offered it to charity organisations but they didn't want it :you_crazy

bear in mind though that there are probably people here what would try to rob it back from the youth club and break a few windows for good measure, or if they saw it in use at a licensed club would target that club for "working with the feds", and I don't even mean the original owners of the kit but angry youths taking matters into their own hands..

[welly]

Don't be fooled by them offering it to charity, I run a charity youth project and we are all linked to a network of bulletins about things but the problem is that offers aren't usually realistic i.e you aren't given time to collect stuff or there are stringent conditions. Most charities are after money so the police know we would sell them and hence the reason they destroyed them.
As for the rights and wrongs of destroying the equipment, hate to be a cynic but my experience of police in pounding things is that when you get them back there usually been trashed already.

[General Lighting]

Don't be fooled by them offering it to charity, I run a charity youth project and we are all linked to a network of bulletins about things but the problem is that offers aren't usually realistic i.e you aren't given time to collect stuff or there are stringent conditions. Most charities are after money so the police know we would sell them and hence the reason they destroyed them.

I expected there would be conditions against its resale, as the cops aren't daft either, they know a fair few people involved in the rave scene tend to work for such charities and the stuff would thus have found its way back to the party network. Also for aforementioned reasons it could be a "security risk" for charitys what took it...

also round here the youth projects often deal with the effects of problematic drug use and they are seeing youths and families suffering (plus they are backed by conservative christian types) so why would they want to encourage this culture?


As for the rights and wrongs of destroying the equipment, hate to be a cynic but my experience of police in pounding things is that when you get them back there usually been trashed already.as far as they (and the rest of the public) are concerned that kit was bought with drugs money (whether or not this is strictly true) and used for criminal purposes. There are plenty of farmers and locals who would have trashed it given half a chance -so many locals complain that they can't themselves go in mob handed to stop raves (although it woudl be unsafe for them to do so as ravers would fight back and locals don't have the training that OB do - I expect people would get seriously hurt or even killed).

This is also an area where ravers have trashed farms and industrial property (often through stupidity but there is sometimes an element of malice in this) and police cars (often as reprisals for being nicked for drugs dealing) so its simply seen as a tit for tat action.

[Southcaver]

If that was my sound system i'd go down to that scrap yard and errr smash up there scrap, that'll learn em

[BioTech]

If that was my sound system i'd go down to that scrap yard and errr smash up there scrap, that'll learn em

Haha! :bigsmile:

[binge]

Mental note- start up a charity:

'Speakers and Amps for Underprivilaged Kids in Africas'

SAUKA!

That was a joke dude.

"Oh, really, do you want to donate £30,000 worth of equipment to my charity ossiffer? Well, if you insist!"

[General Lighting]

That was a joke dude.

I guessed as such but many a true word is said in jest (I have some experience of how the EA voluntary sector works as they work closely with my own employers)

TBH I did raise a chuckle at Southcavers comments and nearly posted a "naaarfolk" style joke in response...

but had it been your rig (even in others hands) or belonging to anyone else what posts / lurks on here (and whose to say it doesn't?) I doubt people would be laughing and joking so much....

The only consolation I can see is that this "kit and caboodle" was vastly overvalued (same as drugs are), but I know loads of better stuff has got taken off certain people and I can sadly see that sharing the same fate

there is a big emotional fallout every time a party gets busted in this manner and although some crews do bring it on themselves a lot of less dysfunctional crews have also been caught up in the recent zero tolerance policy

in some cases its not just a load of faceless electronic equipment what is being destroyed but peoples long term friendships...

also I've been informed by certain reliable local sources (not cops but people who used to do parties) that the OB in both counties are even preparing (doing riot training etc) to have to shut down or disperse even a legal event if it kicks off due to feelings running high at the moment, they know full well what they have done won't win them any popularity contests...

[mini_molko]

That's just sad! :cry:

[globalloon]

the cops actually offered it to charity organisations but they didn't want it :you_crazy

not very widely

checkled with youth work collegues in that area.... no one heard anything about it

[General Lighting]

not very widely

checkled with youth work collegues in that area.... no one heard anything about it

knowing cops round here they'd only offer it to certain organisations or even people they know wouldn't want it (like OAP's groups) just so they could reinforce the anti-rave argument. There would doubtless have been a lot of cultural resistance to letting anyone who may be prepared to use it for a music event anywhere in the East (even the legal ones), it would be seen tantamount to giving stuff back to the criminals without punishment!

From reading a number of documents released under FOI released by cops (as well as Drugs Action Teams involvving NHS and Council), its clear that they consider both illegal raves and club-based underground dance music events to be two sides of the same coin, and a problem some are dissapointed wasn't "cured" back in the 1990s..

That statement and actions are only going to be a PR exercise anyway because the cops are now trying to use the eco argument against raves, clearly destroying a load of serviceable sound equipment that some kids in a Chinese sweatshop slaved to put together and then was shipped hundreds of miles to Felixstowe isn't very eco-friendly even if it "enforces the law".

TBH the antis (and the locals of breckland/SW Norfolk) have probably been waiting for this moment for years, as the problem with badly run raves was festering about 5 years ago long before I lived anwwhere near this place, I remember Biotech, Frij and some others posting a fair few "friendly warnings" what simply got ignored by the younger lot..

However, making that ill-thought out statement about using the wood chips for the power station (there is already one in Thetford) and the false eco-arguments (parties may be a nuisance and can cause some damage but are not an ecological disaster, no more than farming) is a perfect way to turn youths against positive envronmental work..

- incidentaly there was a local (in SE England) calling for a rig to be crushed recently after she had been woken up by a party..

[coastie]

'Rubbish!' :laugh_at:

[MessyM2k5]

To be honest you have to be a right spastic to get your rig actually crushed. So they probably deserved it. I mean I think its a shame to waste sound equipment but for it to have reached teh state where the kit needs destroyed whoever owned the rig was probably just fucking things up for the rest of us. An you must be some sort of Thick Cunt, that was my rig being destroyed, we have been partying norfolk for 4 years now and never had any trouble with the ob, we always did as they asked, fucked off when told to and cleared up. We had the equipment destroyed because of the location, although having only 1 complaint from the farmer that location had been used many a time before, it was thought to be a safe venue. We actually got our rigs away from the location but the police where waiting 100 yards from my house and seized the equipment and arrested us when we arrived home. 1 of our crew took the wrap for everything, he got fined 2700 quid and we lost about 5 grands worth of rig, van, generators, decks, lighting etc, he also got banned from un-licensed musical events in the UK for 2 years. They couldn't give the equipment away to charities for re-sale as it is not PAT tested and therefore cannot be re-sold. We still have some rig left and from now on our doing only legalish events in the uk, we are headin to portugal in august to the boom festival and taking a small rig for a day or 2 to the boom off festival.

[binge]

An you must be some sort of Thick Cunt, that was my rig being destroyed, we have been partying norfolk for 4 years now and never had any trouble with the ob, we always did as they asked, fucked off when told to and cleared up. We had the equipment destroyed because of the location, although having only 1 complaint from the farmer that location had been used many a time before, it was thought to be a safe venue. We actually got our rigs away from the location but the police where waiting 100 yards from my house and seized the equipment and arrested us when we arrived home. 1 of our crew took the wrap for everything, he got fined 2700 quid and we lost about 5 grands worth of rig, van, generators, decks, lighting etc, he also got banned from un-licensed musical events in the UK for 2 years. They couldn't give the equipment away to charities for re-sale as it is not PAT tested and therefore cannot be re-sold. We still have some rig left and from now on our doing only legalish events in the uk, we are headin to portugal in august to the boom festival and taking a small rig for a day or 2 to the boom off festival.

I'd be interested to know who this was. Bloody shame dude. If you're up for a PM I may very well know you..... but if not no worries.

Gutted to hear it, things are grim right now.

[BioTech]

that location had been used many a time before

That might have been part of the problem mate, especially if it was the land of the farmer who had complained (and prob not for the first time)

Sorry to hear about your troubles though.

[sheffield-junglist]

That-picture-made-me-feel-sick:yakk:

Ma-mates-brother-went-to-one-near-the-seaside-(I-think-it-were-in-Wales)
and-apparently-the-coppers-got-there,threw-the-rig-over-the-edge-of-a-
cliff-and-then-just-left-again!

[Tek Offensive]

what a shit thing to happen. so much effort as well as money must have been involved with them speakers. all wasted.

[wafl]

1000 quid a speaker what are they on about??
you can get 4 186 horns for that much lol

[General Lighting]

its the same as how when there is a drugs bust they use the highest most rip off prices they can find, it makes the news articles look like the cops are doing more to combat "crime". There is however another major risk to crews from the current level of "propaganda spin", I will add a follow up to the latest bust news to explain it..