Re: Safe Grad parties
I am a retired RCMP member who was a serving member when Safe Grad first came to Red Deer. Prior to 1984, we never heard of Safe Grad.
Every year, the grads would organize their own “bush parties,” which frequently had tragic consequences, e.g. fatal motor vehicle accidents, impaired driving, assaults, sexual assaults, kids being run over by drunk kids driving through the fields where the party was going on — well, you get the idea.
As police officers, we were the ones who had to do the next of kin notifications and the investigations when some poor kid died or was injured as a result of the wild, uncontrolled bush parties.
Thanks to the efforts of Consts. Rick Moss and Ken Taylor, who were serving on the city detachment’s crime prevention Unit, Safe Grad was brought from the U.S. to Red Deer. They enlisted the aid of some local service clubs and I also believe that AADAC was involved. The first year, they pitched the idea to the Comp and Camille. The Comp bought into the program and they went with the Safe Grad concept. Camille opted out. However, tragedy struck the Camille grad bush party that year. The next year, Camille also came on board for Safe Grad.
Safe Grad brings with it a very strict set of rules and protocols. Since its inception, the numbers of tragic incidents during grad festivities have all but disappeared, thanks to Safe Grad.
During the Safe Grad parties, many of our RCMP members, on their-off duty hours, with the force’s knowledge and unofficial support, would assist with setting up the Safe Grad and help with the supervision of the party. Since I was serving on the Red Deer rural detachment at that time, we would make a point of patrolling to the secret Safe Grad party site for a visit, just to “fly the flag,” so to speak.
Since the committees were very well organized, had everything well under control and were following the protocols, we never had any occasion that I am aware of, to lay any charges or arrest anyone. Graduation parties were looked upon by the force and parents as something that was inevitable and was going to happen with or without the Safe Grad.
There was much comfort in the knowledge that Safe Grad was there and you could expect your graduate to come home showing a little worse for wear and tear from the evening of celebrating with their other graduating friends, but nevertheless they were escorted home safe and sound.
From what I have learned, the phone call to the Safe Grad committee from AGLC forced the Safe Grad committee for Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High parents to make a very difficult decision and cancel their Safe Grad. This destroyed what was considered a relatively safe passage for our graduating students.
From what I understand, there was no indication that the AGLC was acting on any complaints, which would leave us to believe that they were acting on their own initiative. While I realize they were probably following the letter of the law with respect to under-aged drinking, it should be kept in mind that the law is there to protect our society and not there to place us into harm’s way. This is exactly what this has done.
Common sense and discretion has to be applied whenever enforcing laws. By using intimidating tactics, the AGLC has also put the other high school graduation Safe Grads in jeopardy. If the other committees feel they must cancel their Safe Grads as well, there will no doubt be a return of the “bush parties” and the horrible consequences and tragedies that go along with them. I hope that never happens.
Jim Thoreson
Red Deer