By Kenicia Francis
Antigua and Barbuda is struggling with minors sneaking into adults-only events, raising concerns about their early exposure to alcohol and inappropriate behaviour.
Observer spoke with local promoters and Police Commissioner Atlee Rodney to gauge measures being taken to address the problem.
The issue was raised after it emerged 15-year-old murder victim Achazia James – whose body was found at Runaway Beach last Sunday – had been seen at a fete during Carnival festivities.
DJ and event promoter Jime Hunte told Observer, “For us at RISE we have a strict 18-plus policy, but we’ve always had instances of breaches. Every year we do ID checks and ask all vendors to do ID checks. It has gotten much better this year, but there were still a few breaches. It’s something that we’ve been actively working on.”
He said law enforcement personnel working as security guards at the popular annual fete physically remove any persons they find to be underage.
However, Hunt stated, “It has to be a collaboration between not just us as promoters, it has to go down to the parenting level too. It has to start there. I’ve seen a lot of promoters step up and put 18-plus on their flyers, ID required on their flyers, but we still have a lot of minors trying to get in.
“I can say we put a lot of effort into checking IDs. It’s very hard because we’re dealing with 7,000 people. So it’s not going to be a perfect system, but it’s stuff we will try to adjust and improve for next year.”
David Isaac, CEO and owner of Peer Pressure Promotions which stages the iconic Blue Jeans fete, told Observer that underage revellers making their way in was “an ongoing problem”.
“Peer Pressure Promotions treats this very seriously; we’ve always done so. We’ve not always been successful as we have had many challenges over the years managing that process.
“In the early days of Blue Jeans in particular there were no national IDs so it was really up to the discretion of the persons at the gate and the police officers who were helping. Some minors were able to evade them based on how they looked,” Isaac explained.
He said he had discussed the problem with the then Education Minister.
“Some school IDs were then put in place which helped the situation,” Isaac continued, but said challenges remain.
“What we have done from our side is, once we start advertising we are always very clear to speak to the fact that you have to be 18 and over to attend. We also speak about drinking responsibly,” Isaac said.
He explained that parents had assisted in the past by standing at the gate to intercept youngsters they recognised.
“We did reap some rewards from that,” he smiled.
However, Isaac explained that there had been “many challenges” with parents attending fetes with their teenage child and “insisting” the youngster be allowed in.
“We don’t have the authority to allow those parents to come in with their child; we have had to put that responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the police officers that we have hired to help with the event,” Isaac said.
He called on parents to take a “stronger stance with their kids regarding which parties they should be allowed to attend”.
“We have a barrier at the final gate and we do our best to try to manage that. It does get challenging on the night when it’s very busy, especially when there are long queues and for efficiency’s sake they’re trying to expedite the line,” Isaac added. “Maybe sometimes minors slip through the cracks but we will continue to do our part.”
Commissioner of Police Atlee Rodney was asked about the issue during an Observer Radio interview on Thursday.
“It’s a collaborative effort between the promoters and the police officers because the permission to host a show clearly states … no one under 18 should be at those shows,” he told the Connecting with Dave Lester Payne show.
“At some shows you have to show an ID when you’re coming in, and if you’re under 18, you will not be allowed to,” he said.
Commissioner Rodney also responded to criticism from some that the police were not doing enough to stop youngsters getting into fetes.
“Sometimes people give the police the blame. I’m saying we have to enforce the regulation that is given. You are told in that letter that goes out to the promoters, you are granted permission and these are the conditions: Nobody under 18. The time for the show, the place, the level of music, the officers that are assigned to you, the point of contact, and if you breach any one of them, the show can be stopped.
“You have all those conditions, so work along with the police so we can keep your fete safe and the young persons out of those environments,” he added.
