CALLS GROW FOR RAVE CRACKDOWN

Stabbing Follows All-night Party In S.E. Calgary

Several aldermen are calling for a clamp-down on raves after a young
man was stabbed early Sunday -- moments after an all-night dance party
he was at wrapped up in southeast Calgary.

Ald. John Schmal said the answer to policing the events might be an
all-out prohibition. "If they cannot (control themselves), I'm heading
towards banning these events because I don't think they're in the
interests of our community," he said.

"If they want to control their own destiny, these young people,
they're going to have to really control their activities. Otherwise,
it's time to starting looking at possible bylaws where these events
are no longer possible in our city."

Ald. Barry Erskine said the time for increased regulation is
close.

"If this kind of thing continues to happen, then there's going to be
pressure by society to severely limit them or eliminate them," he
said. "Bylaws should be the last resort, we're bylawed to death in
this city. Unfortunately, it looks like the moment of last resort is
fast approaching."

Three people were injured in the incident. The 22-year-old man was
rushed to Foothills Hospital at about 6:20 a.m. after he was stabbed
in the chest, side and hip in the parking lot of the bingo, ball
hockey and sports centre, at 707 Barlow Trail S.E.

The rave, which attracted more than 200 people, had just ended in the
building when the assault occurred. Two other men, ages 23 and 24,
suffered minor injuries, police said.

Police detectives interviewed several witnesses and possible suspects
Sunday. A knife and other articles were seized near the crime scene.

Along with aldermen, police also raised concerns about the safety of
all-night rave parties, which have become increasingly trendy with
teenagers. In other communities, including Edmonton, ravers have been
taken to hospital suffering from drug overdoses. Ecstasy, a drug that
boosts energy and makes users feel in love with the world, is
considered a mainstay of raves.

"Anytime we have groups of young people who are poorly supervised or
mis-supervised that are put in a position where there's an
availability to drugs or alcohol, we do have a concern about that,"
said Insp. Brendan Kapuscinski.

But a man who attended the weekend rave said the attack was not
typical of the events.

The man -- who asked that his name be withheld -- said the victim was
leaving the bash with about seven friends when the attacker and 30
companions caught up to him in the parking lot.

"It had nothing to do with the rave," said the man, adding he's
attended a dozen other raves without incident. "It can happen
anywhere. If it happened at a mall, you wouldn't say you'd never go to
another mall -- or if it was at a restaurant, that you'd never eat out
again."

Some aldermen weren't ready to embrace the notion of an all-out ban,
but said stiffer regulation is necessary.

"We do need to recognize teenagers are going to get together and party
and have fun and have dances regardless," said Ald. Jon Lord. "The
question is: Are you going to drive them underground or should you
bring it out and make sure they're in a controlled
environment?"

Ald. Dale Hodges said banning the raves would drive them
underground.

"They simply get organized informally with no one's particular
permission, which happens in other major cities in the world," said
Hodges.

"How would you enforce it? Call out half the police force? This isn't
that simple a problem."

A possible approach could be a permit or licensing system for the
functions, he said.

"At least, you'd know where they were located and you could try
cleaning the drugs out," he said.

Rather than an outright ban, Ald. Joanne Kerr said the city should
restrict raves to high school and college-age youths. And Ald. Sue
Higgins said the city should consider a mandatory number of security
guards or medical workers at the events.