PLANNED RAVE SHUT DOWN BY RCMP

'Not In The Public Interest', Says Staff Sergeant

A rave slated for the Pemberton area Saturday night has been cancelled after
local RCMP expressed worries about the event.

"By virtue of it being a rave as far I'm concerned it's not in the public
interest. It's not in the community interest and I can't support something
like that," said Staff Sgt. Bruce Waite of the Pemberton RCMP, of the rave
which was being organized out of the Lower Mainland.

Although organizers had told Waite that they planned to keep the event safe,
it wasn't enough. "It's not the organizers we're worried about, it's the
people who partake in it," said Waite. "They come back and they've got all
kinds of drugs and all kinds of booze and you can't check them."

The fact that impetus for the event isn't local contributed to the decision.
"As far as I'm concerned they're coming in and raping the community," said
Waite. "They're here today and gone tomorrow and they leave nothing behind
for the betterment of the community."

In addition to those concerns, Waite cited the lack of RCMP manpower and the
unregulated nature of the event. "It's all word of mouth, you could have
2,000 people there," he said. "Last time, there were 8,000-10,000 people
five years ago and someone ending up getting killed, and we certainly don't
want that happening again."

He added people showing up in spite of the event's cancellation was still a
concern. "We're always concerned about that, but you can't go running scared
either."