U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

www.cops.usdoj.gov

Rave Parties

by

Michael S. Scott

Problem-Oriented Guides for Police Series

No. 14

Rave Parties

Michael S. Scott

This project was supported by cooperative agreement #99-

CK-WX-K004 by the Office of Community Oriented

Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions

contained herein are those of the author(s) and do not

necessarily represent the official position of the U.S.

Department of Justice.

www.cops.usdoj.gov

Problem-Oriented Guides for Police Series

Guide No. 14

About the Guide Series i

About the Guide Series

The Problem-Oriented Guides for Police summarize knowledge

about how police can reduce the harm caused by specific

crime and disorder problems. They are guides to prevention

and to improving the overall response to incidents, not to

investigating offenses or handling specific incidents. The

guides are written for police–of whatever rank or

assignment–who must address the specific problem the guides

cover. The guides will be most useful to officers who

• Understand basic problem-oriented policing principles and

methods. The guides are not primers in problem-oriented

policing. They deal only briefly with the initial decision to

focus on a particular problem, methods to analyze the

problem, and means to assess the results of a problemoriented policing project. They are designed to help police

decide how best to analyze and address a problem they have

already identified. (An assessment guide has been produced

as a companion to this series and the COPS Office has also

published an introductory guide to problem analysis. For

those who want to learn more about the principles and

methods of problem-oriented policing, the assessment and

analysis guides, along with other recommended readings, are

listed at the back of this guide.)

• Can look at a problem in depth. Depending on the

complexity of the problem, you should be prepared to

spend perhaps weeks, or even months, analyzing and

responding to it. Carefully studying a problem before

responding helps you design the right strategy, one that is

most likely to work in your community. You should not

blindly adopt the responses others have used; you must

decide whether they are appropriate to your local situation.

What is true in one place may not be true elsewhere; what

works in one place may not work everywhere.
ii Rave Parties

• Are willing to consider new ways of doing police business.

The guides describe responses that other police

departments have used or that researchers have tested.

While not all of these responses will be appropriate to your

particular problem, they should help give a broader view of

the kinds of things you could do. You may think you

cannot implement some of these responses in your

jurisdiction, but perhaps you can. In many places, when

police have discovered a more effective response, they have

succeeded in having laws and policies changed, improving

the response to the problem.

• Understand the value and the limits of research knowledge.

For some types of problems, a lot of useful research is

available to the police; for other problems, little is available.

Accordingly, some guides in this series summarize existing

research whereas other guides illustrate the need for more

research on that particular problem. Regardless, research

has not provided definitive answers to all the questions you

might have about the problem. The research may help get

you started in designing your own responses, but it cannot

tell you exactly what to do. This will depend greatly on the

particular nature of your local problem. In the interest of

keeping the guides readable, not every piece of relevant

research has been cited, nor has every point been attributed

to its sources. To have done so would have overwhelmed

and distracted the reader. The references listed at the end of

each guide are those drawn on most heavily; they are not a

complete bibliography of research on the subject.

• Are willing to work with other community agencies to find

effective solutions to the problem. The police alone cannot

implement many of the responses discussed in the guides.

They must frequently implement them in partnership with

other responsible private and public entities. An effective

problem-solver must know how to forge genuine
About the Guide Series iii

partnerships with others and be prepared to invest

considerable effort in making these partnerships work.

These guides have drawn on research findings and police

practices in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada,

Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia.

Even though laws, customs and police practices vary from

country to country, it is apparent that the police everywhere

experience common problems. In a world that is becoming

increasingly interconnected, it is important that police be

aware of research and successful practices beyond the borders

of their own countries.

The COPS Office and the authors encourage you to provide

feedback on this guide and to report on your own agency's

experiences dealing with a similar problem. Your agency may

have effectively addressed a problem using responses not

considered in these guides and your experiences and

knowledge could benefit others. This information will be used

to update the guides. If you wish to provide feedback and

share your experiences it should be sent via e-mail to

cops_pubs@usdoj.gov.

Acknowledgments v

Acknowledgments

The Problem-Oriented Guides for Police series is very much a

collaborative effort. While each guide has a primary author,

other project team members, COPS Office staff and

anonymous peer reviewers contributed to each guide by

proposing text, recommending research and offering

suggestions on matters of format and style.

The principal project team developing the guide series

comprised Herman Goldstein, professor emeritus, University

of Wisconsin Law School; Ronald V. Clarke, professor of

criminal justice, Rutgers University; John E. Eck, associate

professor of criminal justice, University of Cincinnati;

Michael S. Scott, police consultant, Savannah, Ga.; Rana

Sampson, police consultant, San Diego; and Deborah Lamm

Weisel, director of police research, North Carolina State

University.

Karin Schmerler, Rita Varano and Nancy Leach oversaw the

project for the COPS Office. Megan Tate Murphy

coordinated the peer reviews for the COPS Office. Suzanne

Fregly edited the guides. Research for the guides was

conducted at the Criminal Justice Library at Rutgers

University under the direction of Phyllis Schultze by Gisela

Bichler-Robertson, Rob Guerette and Laura Wyckoff.

The project team also wishes to acknowledge the members of

the San Diego, National City and Savannah police

departments who provided feedback on the guides' format

and style in the early stages of the project, as well as the line

police officers, police executives and researchers who peer

reviewed each guide.

Contents

About the Guide Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

The Problem of Rave Parties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Related Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

Factors Contributing to Rave Party Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Rave Culture and the Rave Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Rave-Related Drugs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

Harms Caused by Rave-Related Drugs and Raves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

Rave-Related Drug Trafficking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Environmental Risk Factors at Raves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Understanding Your Local Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

Asking the Right Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Rave-Related Incidents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Rave-Related Drug Trafficking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Rave Location and Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Current Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Measuring Your Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Responses to the Problem of Rave Parties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

General Considerations for an Effective Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Specific Responses To Address Rave Party Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Responses With Limited Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Appendix A: Summary of Responses to the Problem of Rave Parties . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Appendix B: Common Rave-Related Drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Endnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Contents vii
viii Rave Parties

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Recommended Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Other Guides in This Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
The Problem of Rave Parties 1

The Problem of Rave Parties

This guide addresses problems associated with rave parties.

Rave parties–or, more simply, raves–are dance parties that

feature fast-paced, repetitive electronic music and

accompanying light shows. Raves are the focus of rave

culture, a youth-oriented subculture that blends music, art and

social ideals (e.g., peace, love, unity, respect, tolerance,

happiness). Rave culture also entails the use of a range of licit

and illicit drugs. Drug use is intended to enhance ravers'

sensations and boost their energy so they can dance for long

periods.

Rave party problems will be familiar to many police officers

working in communities where raves have been held; they will

be unfamiliar to many other officers who have never

experienced raves or, perhaps, even heard of them. In many

jurisdictions, the first time a young person dies while or after

attending a rave and using rave-related drugs sparks media,

public and political pressure on police to take action.1

In some respects, rave party problems are unique; they

combine a particular blend of attitudes, drugs and behavior

not found in other forms of youth culture. In other respects,

rave party problems are but the latest variation in an ongoing

history of problems associated with youth entertainment,

experimentation, rebellion, and self-discovery.2

Dealing appropriately with raves is difficult for police. On the

one hand, police often face substantial pressure from

mainstream society to put an end to raves, usually through

aggressive law enforcement. On the other hand, raves are

enormously popular among a significant minority of

teenagers and young adults, most of whom are generally law-
2 Rave Parties

abiding and responsible. Strict enforcement efforts can

alienate a key segment of this population from government in

general, and the police in particular. To be sure, raves can

pose genuine risks, but those risks are frequently exaggerated

in the public's mind. It is important that police recognize that

most rave-related harms happen to the ravers themselves, and

while ravers are not wholly responsible for those harms, they

willingly assume much of the risk for them. Accordingly, rave

party problems are at least as much public health problems as

they are crime and disorder problems. It is critical that you

establish a solid base of facts about rave-related harms in

your community, facts from which you can intelligently

develop local policies and responses.

The principal rave-related concerns for police are:

• drug overdoses and associated medical hazards;

• drug trafficking and the potential for violence associated

with it;

• noise (from rave music, crowds and traffic);

• driving under the influence; and

• traffic control and parking congestion.

Police must balance some public pressure to stop raves altogether and protect young

people from harm without completely alienating them.

Bob Morris
The Problem of Rave Parties 3

Related Problems

Rave party problems are only one set of problems relating to

youth, large crowds and illegal drugs, problems police are

partially responsible for addressing. Other problems not

directly addressed in this guide include:

• problems associated with crowds at music clubs (e.g., hiphop clubs), and at concerts and other big events;

• assaults in and around bars;

• thefts of and from cars in parking facilities;

• disorderly youth in public places;

• graffiti;

• street-level drug dealing;

• clandestine drug labs;

• high-level trafficking in rave-related drugs; and

• use of illicit drugs in acquaintance rape.

Factors Contributing to Rave Party Problems

Understanding the factors that contribute to your problem

will help you frame your own local analysis questions,

determine good effectiveness measures, recognize key

intervention points, and select appropriate responses.

Rave Culture and the Rave Scene

Although only a little more than a decade old, rave culture

and the rave scene have evolved into different forms, with

variations in music styles, settings, drugs used, and ravers'

ages. The rave scene is variously referred to in the literature as

the "club scene" or "dance scene" (and the drugs variously

referred to as "rave drugs," "club drugs" or "dance drugs").

Here we provide only a brief and general history and

description of rave culture and the rave scene; the culture and

scene may vary somewhat from community to community.†

† For descriptions of the history and

evolution of rave culture, see

Measham, Parker and Aldridge

(1998); Presdee (2000); Van de

Wijngaart et al. (1999); Morel (1999);

Critcher (2000); Farley (2000); and

National Drug Intelligence Center

(2001).
4 Rave Parties

Raves emerged in U.K. youth culture in the late 1980s, having

started amidst the party atmosphere of Ibiza, a Mediterranean

island frequented by British youth on vacation.3 Rave music

originated in the United States, mainly in Detroit, Chicago and

New York. 4,† The rave scene soon spread to other European

and North American countries, to Australia, to New Zealand,

and elsewhere around the world. Raves, especially those held

in large clubs, have been prominent in such North American

cities as Toronto, Dallas, New Orleans, Atlanta, and Tampa

and Orlando, Fla.; and in British cities such as Manchester,

Liverpool and London.5

Raves vary in size: some draw a few hundred people, while

others draw tens of thousands. Raves are commonly

advertised in flyers distributed in clubs and music stores, and

on Internet websites. Oftentimes, the flyer or website lists

only the city, the date, the rave title, and a telephone number.

Those who call the number are given directions to the rave or

to another location where they can find out where the rave is.

Raves usually start late at night and continue into the

morning. A well-known disk jockey is often the rave's main

attraction. Ravers often wear or carry glow sticks or other

† Among the variations of rave

music styles are those known as

house (or garage), acid house,

ambient, hardcore, happy hardcore,

techno, trance, progressive trance,

cybertrance, drum 'n' bass, techstep,

big beat, and jungle music.

Some ravers inhale mentholated vapor rub to enhance

ecstasy's effects.

Bob Morris
The Problem of Rave Parties 5

brightly lit accessories, and eat lollipops and candy necklaces.

Some wear painters' masks with mentholated vapor rub

applied to the inside to enhance ecstasy's effects.

Rave culture has become increasingly commercialized since its

early days, and today accounts for a large part of the youth

entertainment industry.6 Regular ravers spend around $50 to

$75 (£35 to £50) a week just on admission, drugs and drinks.7

So-called "energy drinks" (nonalcoholic beverages laced with

amino acids) are often heavily marketed at rave clubs. Bottled

water is also prevalent at raves–ravers drink a lot of water to

try to keep their bodies hydrated and their body temperatures

down. Selling bottled water at raves can be highly profitable.

There are large profits to be made selling anything associated

with raves, from clothing to accessories to beverages.

In the early years, most raves were unlicensed, unregulated

events held in clandestine locations–usually in remote sites

like open fields, caves or tunnels, and sometimes indoors in

empty warehouses, airplane hangars or barns. Rave locations

were kept secret until the day of the event: ticket holders

called special telephone numbers to learn where to go. Largely

due to police crackdowns on these unlicensed and unregulated

clandestine raves, the rave scene moved to large clubs in

urban and suburban areas.†

Raves predictably attract a young crowd–as young as 13 at

unlicensed raves, but more typically in the 17-to-early-20s

range in licensed clubs.†† Younger ravers are sometimes called

"candy ravers": they are more likely to wear costumes. Ravers

come from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, though most

are white.8 Most are employed, which is not surprising given

the costs of regular rave attendance.9 Slightly more males

than females attend raves.10 Different clubs that promote

different types of rave music attract different races and sexual

orientations. Regular ravers appear to derive great pleasure

† Outdoor raves have effectively

been banned entirely in the United

Kingdom under the Criminal Justice

and Public Order Act of 1994, a

national law passed specifically in

response to raves (Presdee 2000;

Shapiro 1999). The law gives police

broad powers to detain people

traveling to raves, seize electronic

equipment and shut raves down,

powers that would likely be seen as

overbroad in the United States.

†† Ravers' ages depend partly on

local laws regulating the ages at

which people can be admitted to

clubs.
6 Rave Parties

from their involvement in the rave scene, and are committed

to it in spite of the risks and costs.11

Rave-Related Drugs

Although ravers might use any number of legal and illegal

drugs, certain drugs are most commonly associated with the

rave scene. Among them are:

• ecstasy (or MDMA),†

• Ketamine,††

• LSD (or "acid"),

• Rohypnol, and

• GHB (see Appendix B for more information on these

drugs).

Ravers also use amphetamines, methamphetamine, cannabis,

alcohol, and cocaine, but such use transcends involvement in

the rave culture. Crack and heroin are not yet prominent in

rave culture, but heroin use appears to be increasing among

ravers in some jurisdictions.12

Other drugs associated with rave culture include:

• MDEA (or "Eve") (3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine);

• MMDA (3-methoxy-4,5-methylenediosyamphetamine);

• PMA (paramethoxyamphetamine);†††

• fentanyl;

• PCP (or "angel dust") (phencyclidine);

• psilocybin (or "magic mushrooms");

• methaqualone;

• DMT (dimethyltryptamine);

• over-the-counter drugs such as pseudoephedrine, ephedra,

caffeine, menthol inhalants, and vaporizing ointments;

• prescription drugs such as Viagra, Prozac and DXM

(dextromethorphan, a cough elixir); and 

• legal substances such as nitrous oxide (or "laughing gas" or

"whippets").

† MDMA is only one of perhaps over

200 analogues to the chemical MDA

(3,4 - methylenedioxyamphetamine)

(Spruit 1999).

†† Because Ketamine is used as a

veterinary anesthetic, trafficking in it is

often connected to burglaries of

veterinary clinics and pharmacies (U.S.

Office of National Drug Control

Policy 2001).

††† PMA has been connected with

several deaths in recent years in the

United States, Canada and Australia

(DanceSafe 2001; National Institute on

Drug Abuse 2001).
The Problem of Rave Parties 7

Drug use patterns can vary significantly across regions and

countries, so while one drug might be popular in one

jurisdiction, it might be unknown in others.13 Because most of

the drugs are illegal and therefore not subject to quality

control, users do not necessarily know exactly what chemicals

they are ingesting.

Ecstasy is the drug most closely associated with the rave scene,

and an increasingly popular one.14 Drug control officials are

concerned that its use has spread from the smaller rave culture

to the mainstream youth culture, as drug use becomes

increasingly normalized among the current generation.15

Ecstasy use has been expanding from primarily white, middleclass, suburban youth to minority and urban youth.16

Two of ecstasy's common side effects are jaw-clenching and

teeth-grinding. Ecstasy users at raves often suck on baby

pacifiers to cope with these effects. Ecstasy users typically take

one to two tablets per rave session.17 Because many raverelated drugs are manufactured illegally, users cannot be sure of

the exact chemical contents of what they take. What is sold as

ecstasy, for example, may actually be a different drug, or a

mixture of ecstasy and other active drugs or adulterants.18

Ecstasy users at raves often suck on baby pacifiers to cope

with the drug's jaw-clenching and teeth-grinding side effects.

Bob Morris
8 Rave Parties

Traditionally, alcohol has not been associated with the rave

scene because many ravers have felt it promotes aggression

and undermines the peace ideal at raves.19 But as the rave

scene has moved to licensed clubs, and as alcohol distributors

have sought to profit from rave culture, alcohol has become

more heavily used at raves, and more heavily marketed to

appeal to the rave audience.20 Alcohol can alter the effects of

other drugs taken, in unpredictable and dangerous ways.

As noted, heroin and crack use is also less common among

ravers, although about one-fifth to one-third of ravers have

tried heroin.21

While it is true that not everyone who attends raves uses

illegal drugs, and not everyone who uses illegal drugs attends

raves, there is substantial evidence that rave attendance and

certain patterns of drug use are closely linked.22 People who

attend raves tend to have more drug experience than those

who do not, and people who use the drugs associated with

raves are more likely to attend raves.23

Harms Caused by Rave-Related Drugs and Raves

The use of rave-related drugs has not been strongly linked to

other crimes, as has been the case with other drugs such as

cocaine and heroin.24 And unlike other youth events or other

types of concerts, raves do not typically involve much

assault.25 The few reports of rave-related violence are usually

attributable to clashes between ravers and police when police

try to shut raves down.26 Even these confrontations are rare.

There has been some violence in British clubs where

organized drug gangs have tried to control the drug

distribution and private security markets.27 At raves to which

most people have traveled by car, there will also likely be

problems such as thefts from and of cars, vandalism and

graffiti, but these problems are not unique to raves.
The Problem of Rave Parties 9

There are some concerns that people who take certain raverelated drugs are more vulnerable to sexual assault, but there

is little published literature indicating that rave-related sexual

assaults are prevalent.† In fact, the evidence of rave-related

drugs' effects on sexual activity is mixed: rave culture

discourages sexual aggressiveness, and while some drugs do

lower sexual inhibitions, they also can inhibit sexual

performance. So in some respects, raves are safer places for

young people, especially women, than conventional bars and

clubs.28

As a whole, those ravers who use rave-related drugs seem to

manage their drug use, not letting it seriously disrupt other

facets of their lives–work, school and personal relationships29

–although this is clearly not the case for all ravers.30 Few raverelated drug users get seriously addicted to the drugs, and few

turn to crime to finance their drug use.31 To the extent that

regular rave attendance and rave-related drug use do create

other life-management problems, those problems tend to be

worse for younger and female ravers, and for those who use

combinations or excessive doses of drugs.32

Common unpleasant aftereffects of rave attendance include

fatigue, insomnia, exhaustion, muscle aches, numbness,

profuse sweating, listlessness, depression, amnesia, paranoia,

and excessive mood swings.33 Some people also experience

anxiety or panic attacks, blurred vision, dizziness, appetite and

weight problems, nausea, headaches, stomach pains, vomiting,

skin problems, irregular menstrual periods, and passing out.

These effects are undoubtedly caused by a combination of

overexertion and drug use. Some ravers try to medicate

themselves to manage the aftereffects of drug use.34 The

long-term effects of some of the drugs are not yet fully

understood, but there is evidence that chronic ecstasy use can

cause permanent brain damage.35

† Some scholars have noted that

warnings about young women's

sexual vulnerability are frequently

connected to emerging drug use, to

generate public support for official

crackdowns (Rietveld 1993; Jenkins

1999).
10 Rave Parties

Most of the deaths that have been linked to raves have been

caused not by the toxicity of the drugs per se, but by the

effects they have on key bodily functions.36 Many deaths are

attributed to the users' bodies overheating (hyperthermia),

dehydrating or losing blood sodium (hyponatraemia). These

effects occur because some drugs, ecstasy in particular, inhibit

the body's temperature-regulating mechanisms, and body

temperatures can rise to fatal levels. This effect is

compounded by users' overexertion through dancing and by

the loss of bodily fluids from sweating or vomiting. Many

ecstasy users drink a lot of water to prevent dehydration, but

unless they are dancing and sweating, drinking too much

water can prove equally dangerous because it can cause kidney

failure. Ecstasy use can impair the kidneys' capacity to

produce urine.37 Several studies of ecstasy users reveal that

many of them only vaguely understand the risks of

hyperthermia and hyponatraemia, and how to prevent them.38

While rave-related drug deaths are, of course, tragic, and

taking rave-related drugs increases the risk of death or serious

illness, deaths and medical emergencies remain relatively rare.39

Rave-related drugs are not yet showing up in large numbers in

emergency room mentions, but they are increasingly being

noted.40 Some deaths and medical emergencies can be

attributed to users' ingesting a combination of drugs or a

combination of drugs and alcohol (referred to as potentiation

effects).41 Yet others can be attributed to users' allergic

reactions or hypersensitivity to rave-related drugs, or to the

drugs' triggering some other preexisting medical condition.42

Treatment is sometimes complicated because users often do

not know exactly what chemicals they have ingested, or they

have ingested combinations of chemicals.†

† Tests in the Netherlands and

Canada of drugs that users believed

to be ecstasy revealed that only about

one-fourth to one-third of the drugs

actually contained MDMA (Spruit

1999; Royal Canadian Mounted

Police 2000).
The Problem of Rave Parties 11

Rave-Related Drug Trafficking

Although this guide does not directly address large-scale

trafficking in rave-related drugs, a few points about drug

dealing at raves are in order. Most ravers obtain and use illegal

drugs before arriving at the venue.43 This is so for several

reasons:

• as rave operators increasingly search ravers for drugs upon

entry, drug users avoid having their drugs confiscated by

taking them before they arrive;

• some rave-related drugs take an hour or more to take effect,

so users want them to be working when they get to the

venue; and

• experienced drug users prefer to get drugs from a dealer

they know and trust, rather than risk getting bad drugs from

an unknown dealer at a venue (where they will also

probably pay more).

So while some drug dealing does occur at rave venues, they

are not the predominant location for rave-related drug

distribution. A considerable amount of drug dealing may

occur in the area around the rave venue, particularly if rave

operators are effective at keeping drug dealers and drugs out

of the venue. One of the potential unintended consequences

of searching ravers for drugs upon entry is that it encourages

some ravers to take large doses of drugs before they arrive, to

prolong the effects throughout the rave.44

Drug dealing operations in clubs can be elaborate, with

different people playing different roles: primary dealer, floor

dealer, referrer, spotter/protector.45 To varying degrees, rave

operators, disk jockeys and security staff are sometimes
12 Rave Parties

involved in drug trafficking. Their involvement may range

from turning a blind eye to it (sometimes because they are

intimidated by dealers), to taking payments from dealers to

allow dealing, to actually dealing themselves.46

Environmental Risk Factors at Raves

Certain environmental conditions common to raves create

health and safety risks for ravers. Chief among them are heat,

humidity and loud music. The heat and humidity are

generated by large crowds of people whose body

temperatures rise due to strenuous dancing and the chemical

effects of some rave-related drugs. Where heat and humidity

are not compensated for through good ventilation, air

conditioning and ready access to cool drinking water, the risks

are compounded. Prolonged exposure to loud music can

cause temporary or permanent hearing loss: sound levels at

many raves average around 135 decibels, well above the level

that can cause hearing loss.47
† DAWN surveys provide

emergency room data for selected

U.S. sites.

Understanding Your Local Problem 13

Understanding Your Local Problem

The information provided above is only a generalized

description of rave party problems. You must combine the

basic facts with a more specific understanding of your local

problem. Analyzing the local problem carefully will help you

design a more effective response strategy.

Asking the Right Questions

The following are some critical questions you should ask in

analyzing your particular rave party problems, even if the

answers are not always readily available. Your answers to these

and other questions will help you choose the most

appropriate set of responses later on.

You may answer some of these questions by referring to

police or health authority statistics. However, talks with ravers,

club owners and others associated with raves will also be

necessary. Further, covert and overt surveillance of clubs and

exterior areas is essential for getting a firsthand picture of

how raves operate.

Rave-Related Incidents

• How many medical emergencies are attributable to raves?

(Emergency room and emergency medical service records,

raver surveys and police records are sources for this

information.)†

• What are the particular medical conditions (e.g., dehydration,

hyperthermia, hyponatraemia)?

• Which drugs appear to cause or contribute to these

conditions?

• Do rave staff appropriately call emergency medical

personnel for rave-related medical emergencies? (Some staff

may be reluctant to call for fear that such emergencies will

be used as evidence to support enforcement actions against

rave promoters.)
14 Rave Parties

• Does noise from rave venues disturb people? If so, what,

specifically, is the source of the noise (rave music, vehicles,

patrons outside the venue)?

• How many traffic crashes involve drivers traveling to and

from raves? Are drivers under the influence when the

crashes occur?

• Are traffic congestion and parking a problem around rave

venues?

• Have any assaults (sexual or nonsexual) occurred at, or been

connected to, raves? If so, what, precisely, has been the

connection?

• To what extent do problems such as thefts from cars,

vandalism and graffiti occur in the area around rave venues

during raves? 

Rave-Related Drug Trafficking

• How much drug trafficking occurs inside rave venues? In

the area around the venues during or before the raves?

• How organized and of what scale are the drug dealing

operations?

• Are any of the rave staff (disk jockeys, security personnel,

promoters) involved in drug dealing? If so, what is their

involvement?

• Which rave-related drugs are most popular in your

jurisdiction?

Rave Location and Management

• Do raves occur in licensed or unlicensed venues? In what

specific types of venues (clubs, warehouses, open fields,

caves, hangars, etc.)?

• Who owns and/or controls access to the property where

raves occur? Is there a legally binding agreement between

the property owner and rave operator governing property

use? If so, what are its provisions regarding safety, security

and liability?

• What are the particular problems associated with licensed

and unlicensed venues, respectively?

• Where have raves occurred in the past in the jurisdiction?
Understanding Your Local Problem 15

• Is alcohol served at raves?

• Are minors admitted to raves? If so, what problems, if any,

does this cause?

• How many people typically attend a rave? Is crowding a

problem in the venue or in the line waiting to enter the

venue?

• Where do ravers live in relation to the raves? Are most local,

or have they traveled far to attend?

• What is your jurisdiction's reputation among ravers? Do they

see your jurisdiction as a desirable place to attend a rave?

(Monitoring Internet chat rooms and interviewing ravers

might provide some answers to these questions.)

• How profitable are raves for rave operators and property

owners? (Understanding the business aspects of raves can

help you influence the actions of operators and owners.)

• Are commodities essential to ravers' health, such as water,

sold at exorbitant prices in venues?

• Are ravers properly screened and/or searched for illegal

drugs and weapons before they enter venues? Are all ravers

properly screened, or are some allowed in unchecked?

• Are ravers allowed to leave and reenter venues? If so, do

they have to pay an additional admission charge?

• Are tickets sold at remote sites before the rave, or only at

the door on the day of the rave?

Current Responses

• How do police learn of upcoming raves? By monitoring

websites and flyers? By interviewing young people? How

often are police unaware of raves until they take place?

• Do any laws regulate raves? If so, do the regulations apply

to the particular rave party problems in your jurisdiction? 

• Which agencies are responsible for enforcing the

regulations? Do they enforce them adequately?

• Are there multidisciplinary groups to plan and monitor

raves?

• What security staff, if any, work at raves? Do police provide

security at raves? If there are private security staff, are they

adequately screened and trained? Who screens and trains

them? Is there an adequate ratio of staff to ravers?
16 Rave Parties

• Are the safety measures commonly recommended for

running raves in place? (See response 1 for a list of

common safety recommendations.)

• What is the police department policy with respect to

enforcing drug laws at raves? Is personal use of rave-related

drugs tolerated, or are all applicable laws strictly enforced?

How does the official department policy compare with

actual enforcement practice?

• Is anonymous drug testing conducted at raves? If so, do

police endorse it?

Measuring Your Effectiveness

Measurement allows you to determine to what degree your

efforts have succeeded, and suggests how you might modify

your responses if they are not producing the intended results.

You should take measures of your problem before you

implement responses, to determine how serious the problem

is, and after you implement them, to determine whether they

have been effective. All measures should be taken in both the

target area and the surrounding area. (For more detailed

guidance on measuring effectiveness, see the companion guide

to this series, Assessing Responses to Problems: An Introductory

Guide for Police Problem-Solvers.) 

The following are potentially useful measures of the

effectiveness of responses to rave party problems:

• number of rave-related medical emergencies;

• severity of rave-related medical emergencies;

• number of complaints about noise, traffic and other raverelated nuisances;

• number and severity of offenses such as thefts from cars,

vandalism and graffiti that occur around rave venues during

raves; and

• number and severity of traffic crashes and amount of traffic

congestion associated with raves.
Understanding Your Local Problem 17

The volume of rave-related drugs police seize is not a direct

measure of your effectiveness, although it may provide you

with some insights into drug trafficking and drug use in the

jurisdiction. You should also be alert to any evidence that

raves have been displaced to another jurisdiction as a result of

your efforts, or conversely, that they have been displaced to

your jurisdiction from another jurisdiction.

Responses to the Problem of Rave Parties 19

Responses to the Problem of Rave

Parties 

Your analysis of your local problem should give you a better

understanding of the factors contributing to it. Once you

have analyzed your local problem and established a baseline

for measuring effectiveness, you should consider possible

responses to address the problem.

The following response strategies provide a foundation of

ideas for addressing your particular problem. These strategies

are drawn from a variety of research studies and police

reports. Several of these strategies may apply to your

community's problem. It is critical that you tailor responses to

local circumstances, and that you can justify each response

based on reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy

will involve implementing several different responses. Law

enforcement responses alone are seldom effective in reducing

or solving the problem. Do not limit yourself to considering

what police can do: give careful consideration to who else in

your community shares responsibility for the problem and can

help police better respond to it. Also, give careful

consideration to involving others in developing responses,

especially people immersed in the rave culture.

General Considerations for an Effective Strategy

There are two general approaches to addressing rave party

problems. One is prohibition–strictly enforcing all drug laws

and banning raves (either directly or through intensive

regulation). The other is harm reduction–acknowledging that

some illegal drug use and raves are inevitable, and trying to

minimize the harms that can occur to drug users and ravers.†

Many jurisdictions blend enforcement with harm reduction

† For arguments favoring harm

reduction policies, see Parker,

Aldridge and Measham (1998);

Measham, Aldridge and Parker

(2001); Jenkins (1999); Spruit (1999);

Branigan and Wellings (1999); Adlaf

and Smart (1997); Weir (2000);

Toronto Dance Safety Committee

(2000); and Akram and Galt (1999).
20 Rave Parties

approaches. Whatever approach you ultimately adopt, it

should at least be coherent and consistent. For example, if

you choose to emphasize harm reduction, it would be

inconsistent to then use rave operators' adoption of harm

reduction strategies, such as hiring private emergency medical

staff, stocking bottled water or establishing rest areas ("chill

out" areas), as evidence that they are condoning and

promoting illicit drug use. Conversely, if you adopt a strict

drug prohibition approach, it would be inconsistent to permit,

for example, anonymous drug testing at raves.

Local public and political attitudes, as well as police policies

regarding similar problems, will influence the general stance

your agency takes. It is important to consider how the public,

and the various communities within it, will perceive the police

response to rave party problems, particularly as that response

is compared with police responses to similar problems. In

some communities, the police have been criticized for taking a

different stance on enforcement at raves, which are

predominantly attended by white youth, than they have been

perceived to take at events that are predominantly attended by

minority youth.

To some extent, police and other regulators are forced to

choose between the lesser of the harms arising from raves

held in licensed venues and those held in unlicensed,

clandestine venues.† (This has some similarities to the public

policy choices governing indoor vs. outdoor prostitution.)

Shutting down all rave clubs would probably move raves and

their associated problems back to outdoor, unlicensed and

clandestine locations. Perhaps the biggest drawback to moving

raves to indoor licensed venues is that it increasingly makes

alcohol more available to ravers, increasing the medical risks

from combining alcohol and rave-related drugs.

† British police and legislative

policies have been effective in

moving raves to licensed indoor

venues (Critcher 2000).
Responses to the Problem of Rave Parties 21

Specific Responses To Address Rave Party Problems

1. Regulating rave venues to ensure basic health and

safety measures are in place. The basic measures widely

deemed necessary for ravers' health and safety are:

• keeping the venue well-ventilated and controlling heat and

humidity;

• providing a rest area where ravers can rest and cool off;

• having trained emergency medical staff readily accessible to

ravers, especially for drug-related ailments;

• making drinking water readily available to ravers (sometimes

requiring that it be provided for free);

• hiring properly trained and screened private security staff,

primarily to search ravers for illegal drugs and to monitor

drug sales and use inside the venue;

• providing reliable and credible information to ravers about

the effects of rave-related drugs and harm prevention

measures (see response 6 below);

• posting and advertising policies prohibiting illegal drugs in

the venue;

• ensuring there is adequate transportation to and from

venues, especially for those who might be impaired by drugs

and alcohol;

• keeping ravers away from hazardous areas (such as off of

loudspeakers that might topple over); and

• keeping noise levels outside the venue tolerable and

providing earplugs for ravers.48

Regulations also commonly include requiring rave promoters

to obtain special permits from the local jurisdiction,

applications for which must be filed sufficiently early to allow

officials to check the backgrounds of promoters and their
22 Rave Parties

staff. Stricter U.K. laws allow police to call for a review of a

club's license up to seven times a year, rather than the

previous annual review.49 A national U.K. law authorizes local

governments to close clubs where there is evidence that drugs

are being sold or used on the premises.50 Enforcement of fire

safety codes, licensing ordinances and other health and safety

regulations has also been part of some jurisdictions' response

strategies.51

Some venues, in cooperation with police, have placed socalled "amnesty boxes" at the entrances to rave venues. Ravers

are encouraged to put any weapons and illegal drugs in these

secured boxes, without threat of arrest. Security staff also put

any contraband they find in the boxes. Police later seize the

contents.52

In some jurisdictions, these sorts of measures are required by

local law; elsewhere, they are merely promoted as good

practice. Either way, police should work closely with venue

management to identify emerging problems, develop mutually

agreed-upon responses, and determine the relative

responsibilities and commitments of venue management and

police.53

Where adequate regulations already are in place, police and

other agencies may merely need to give special attention to

enforcing those regulations. Where they do not exist, police

and others may need to develop and advocate new

regulations.

2. Encouraging and supporting property owners in

exercising control over raves. For raves held in leased

properties other than licensed nightclubs, police can
Responses to the Problem of Rave Parties 23

encourage and support property owners in their efforts to

control those raves. Some owners may not appreciate what

raves are when they agree to lease their properties and,

accordingly, may not insist on certain lease provisions that

would minimize the nuisances and harms that arise from

improperly run raves. Charlotte, N.C., police report success

working with owners to restrict and regulate raves.54

3. Prohibiting juveniles and adults from being admitted

to the same raves. Allowing young people at raves clearly

exposes them to certain illegal drugs they might otherwise not

be exposed to, at least not as prominently.55 Because early

drug use often leads to lengthier, more problematic drug use,

it makes sense to try to keep the youngest rave fans out of

raves. The city of Denver prohibits alcohol sales in any club

that admits patrons under the legal drinking age.56 Raleigh and

Charlotte, N.C., set earlier mandatory closing times for clubs

that admit younger patrons.57 If there are to be raves for

juveniles, they should be carefully regulated and monitored to

ensure that illegal drugs are not available to the juveniles.

Obviously, juvenile raves should end earlier than adult raves,

and other factors such as noise levels and safe transportation

should be even more closely monitored than they might be

for adult raves. Where applicable, enforcement of juvenile

curfew laws can help keep young ravers safer.

4. Applying nuisance abatement laws to rave venues.

Some police departments have initiated nuisance abatement

actions against properties where poorly managed raves have

been held.58 Although little is known about the overall

effectiveness of this response, it is obviously most applicable

to venues where raves are frequently held.
24 Rave Parties

5. Prosecuting rave operators and/or property owners

criminally for drug-related offenses. Some federal and state

laws prohibiting the use of property for drug trafficking

might be applied to some rave venues. Federal prosecutors in

New Orleans filed criminal charges against the

operators/owners of a large nightclub for permitting the

premises to be used in drug trafficking.59 Proving that

operators/owners had knowledge of drug dealing can be

difficult, however.†

6. Educating ravers about the risks of drug use and

overexertion. Researchers have generally concluded that

ravers do make rational choices about illegal drug use, even if

their choices do not always turn out well.60 If true, then

providing potential drug users with accurate, credible

information about the consequences of using various drugs

can help them manage their risks and reduce the likelihood

that they will suffer serious and permanent harm from taking

drugs.61 Public health officials, police and nonprofit

organizations are increasingly distributing information to

ravers about the risks of rave-related drug use and

overexertion from dancing.62 Although few of these education

campaigns have been carefully evaluated, most observers

stress the importance of providing accurate, specific and

credible information.63 When it comes to the complex

neurochemical effects of drug use, having only a little

knowledge can be dangerous. Popular wisdom about raverelated drugs and raves is often wrong. Most ravers, however,

are interested in getting reliable information.64

Education campaigns typically include data on the effects of

rave-related drugs, precautions about health and safety, and

information about possible legal consequences for drug use.

Nonjudgmentally conveying information about rave-related

drugs and tailoring messages to the specific target audience

can enhance credibility with ravers. Information targeted at

† The New Orleans case ended

when the defendants accepted a plea

bargain, leaving room for debate as

to whether the strategy was

successful overall. See National Drug

Intelligence Center (2001) for tips on

preparing similar cases.
Responses to the Problem of Rave Parties 25

younger ravers with less drug experience should take a

somewhat different tone than that targeted at older, more

drug-experienced ravers.65 Messages that promote total

abstinence from illegal drugs and peer-pressure resistance are

unlikely to be effective with older, more drug-experienced

ravers. Information targeted at males should take a different

tone than that targeted at females, since males are more

reluctant to take measures to protect themselves from the

risks of rave-related drugs.66 In a rave-related drug education

campaign in London, information that was prominently

displayed in the public transportation system did not provoke

a negative public reaction, as was expected.67 Education

campaigns might also try to reach younger ravers' parents,

who might be unaware of the risks of raves.

Ravers should be advised to wear loose-fitting clothing, drink

plenty of water if they are sweating, and take breaks from

dancing to rest and cool off. Rave-related drug users should

also eat salty foods to prevent hyponatraemia. In addition,

they should save small amounts of the drugs they use in the

event they need to be tested during emergency medical

treatment (obviously, though, saving illegal drugs also

increases the risk of arrest). They should stay close to their

friends and have a plan for safe transportation to and from

the event.68

Ravers usually wear little or loose-fitting clothing to try to

keep cool: prolonged dancing and taking ecstasy raises body

temperatures significantly.

Bob Morris
26 Rave Parties

Warning the general public about the harms caused by new

drugs can have the unintended effect of advertising the drugs

and inadvertently encouraging previously uninformed people

to experiment with them.69 For this reason, more-targeted

education campaigns aimed at known or higher-risk users like

ravers may be preferable to wider public education campaigns.

Responses With Limited Effectiveness

7. Banning all raves. Given the popularity of rave culture

and raves, it is highly unlikely that absolute bans on raves will

either stop them or stop the use of rave-related drugs. The

most likely effect of a total ban is that raves will move to

unlicensed, clandestine locations where it is more difficult to

implement harm reduction strategies.

8. Providing anonymous drug-testing services to ravers.

Some jurisdictions provide anonymous testing of rave-related

drugs to ravers to reduce the risk of overdose or ingestion of

dangerous chemicals.70 The SafeHouse Campaign in the

Netherlands, DanceSafe in the United States and RaveSafe in

Canada are among the organizations that conduct anonymous

testing and provide drug users with information about the

drugs they are planning to use. DanceSafe, which has chapters

in over a dozen U.S. cities, claims that it has received police

support in each of those cities.71 Of course, not all

communities or police agencies will find anonymous drug

testing to be an acceptable response to rave problems,

because it might be perceived to condone illicit drug use.72

Thus far, there is no evidence that anonymous testing

increases drug use. Field testing of drugs is not always

reliable, however; some harmful chemicals may not show up

in this less sophisticated testing.
Responses to the Problem of Rave Parties 27

9. Deploying off-duty police officers at raves. Although

some jurisdictions now require rave operators to hire off-duty

police officers to provide security at raves, other jurisdictions

discourage or prohibit this practice.73 Rave promoters

complain that it is an unnecessarily expensive requirement.74

If officers are permitted to work at raves, they should, at a

minimum, be adequately informed about rave culture,

rave-related harms and agency policies regarding enforcement

at raves.

10. Having uniformed police officers conduct random

patrols at raves. Having uniformed police officers conduct

random patrols at raves may discourage some illegal drug use,

but because most ravers take their drugs before arriving at

raves, the impact will likely be minimal. Rave operators and

ravers will likely perceive this practice as harassment,

undermining cooperation in implementing harm reduction

strategies. Uniformed patrol is more likely to prevent some

drug dealing in the area around the rave venue and, possibly,

some opportunistic crimes such as thefts from cars.

11. Conducting roadblocks and vehicle searches before

and after raves. One of the unintended consequences of

conducting roadblocks and vehicle searches before and after

raves is that drug users will be more inclined to take larger

quantities of drugs at one time to avoid having the drugs

confiscated.75 Overingestion can result in medical dangers and

increase the risk of impaired driving.

Appendix A 29

Appendix A: Summary of Responses to

the Problem of Rave Parties

The table below summarizes the responses to rave party

problems, the mechanism by which they are intended to work,

the conditions under which they ought to work best, and

some factors you should consider before implementing a

particular response. It is critical that you tailor responses to

local circumstances, and that you can justify each response

based on reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy

will involve implementing several different responses. Law

enforcement responses alone are seldom effective in reducing

or solving the problems.

1. 21 Regulating rave

venues to ensure

basic health and

safety measures

are in place

Controls

environmental

factors to reduce

ravers' risk of

medical

emergencies

...laws require

adherence to

health and safety

regulations, or

rave promoters

and/or property

owners agree

voluntarily to

abide by

regulations;

unlicensed raves

are prohibited;

and police work

cooperatively with

promoters and/or

owners to ensure

adherence to

regulations

Costs to

promoters and/or

owners; may

require new

legislation

Response

No.

Page No. Response How It

Works

Works

Best If...

Considerations

Specific Responses To Address Rave Party Problems
30 Rave Parties

2.

3.

4.

5.

22

23

23

24

Encouraging and

supporting

property owners

in exercising

control over raves

Prohibiting

juveniles and

adults from being

admitted to the

same raves 

Applying

nuisance

abatement laws to

rave venues

Prosecuting rave

operators and/or

property owners

criminally for

drug-related

offenses

Reduces the

likelihood that

raves will be

poorly managed

Reduces the

likelihood that

juveniles will be

exposed to raverelated drugs and

alcohol

Compels rave

operators and

property owners

to adhere to

health and safety

regulations

Deters operators

and/or owners

from conspiring

in or knowingly

permitting drugrelated offenses 

...owners are

either unaware of

the risks

associated with

raves or unsure

how to exercise

control over

them, and police

have good

working

relationships with

owners

...there are

adequate

opportunities for

juveniles to listen

and dance to rave

music in venues

where drugs and

alcohol are less

available

...operators and

owners are

otherwise

unwilling to

adhere to

regulations

and/or cooperate

with police

...laws in the

jurisdiction allow

for such

prosecutions, and

there is solid

evidence to

support a

prosecution

Some owners may

resent perceived

police interference

with their

opportunities to

profit from leasing

property to rave

operators

May cause some

financial hardship

to rave promoters;

may require new

legislation

Investigative and

legal costs

associated with

developing a

nuisance abatement

case; may worsen

relationships

between police and

operators and

owners

Unproven method

because it has rarely

been applied;

substantial

investigative and

legal costs

associated with

developing a

criminal case

Response

No.

Page No. Response How It

Works

Works

Best If...

Considerations
Appendix A 31

6.

7.

8.

24

26

26

Educating ravers

about the risks of

drug use and

overexertion

Banning all raves

Providing

anonymous drugtesting services to

ravers

Reduces the

likelihood that

ravers will suffer

serious harm

from rave-related

activities

Reduces the

likelihood that

ravers will ingest

harmful

chemicals

...information is

accurate, specific,

credible, and

nonjudgmentally

conveyed; and

messages are

tailored to specific

rave groups 

...a drug testing

organization

serves the

jurisdiction, drug

testing methods

are accurate and

reliable, and

police endorse

anonymous drug

testing

May be public or

police opposition

on the grounds that

illegal activity

appears to be

tolerated; education

campaigns pitched

to the general

public rather than

targeted to higherrisk audiences may

inadvertently

promote drug

experimentation

Unintended

consequence will

likely be that rave

parties move to

unlicensed,

unregulated and

clandestine

locations

May be public or

police opposition

on the grounds that

illegal activity

appears to be

condoned; field

testing methods

may not be

sophisticated

enough to detect

some dangerous

chemicals

Response

No.

Page No. Response How It

Works

Works

Best If...

Considerations

Responses With Limited Effectiveness
32 Rave Parties

9.

10.

11.

27

27

27

Deploying offduty police

officers at raves 

Having

uniformed police

officers conduct

random patrols at

raves

Conducting

roadblocks and

vehicle searches

before and after

raves

Intended to

discourage drug

use and dealing at

raves

Intended to

discourage drug

use and dealing at

raves

Intended to deter

illegal drug use

Most ravers who

use drugs take them

before arriving at

raves, so detection

and deterrence are

minimized; some

rave operators

and/or property

owners may believe

police are assuming

primary

responsibility for

ravers' health and

safety

Most ravers who

use drugs take them

before arriving at

raves, so detection

and deterrence are

minimized; rave

operators and ravers

may perceive it as

harassment,

undermining harm

reduction strategies

Unintended

consequence may

be that drug users

take greater

quantities of drugs

to avoid detection

Response

No.

Page No. Response How It

Works

Works

Best If...

Considerations
Appendix B 33

MDMA

(3,4-meth);

illicit

manufacturing makes it

difficult for

users to

know the

exact

contents

Ecstasy,

XTC, E, X,

Adam, love

drug, hug

drug, roll

Stimulant

(amphetamine) 

hybrid and

mild

hallucinogen

Reduction of

inhibitions;

feelings of

empathy, wellbeing and

relaxation;

elimination of

anxiety;

enhancement of

self-esteem and

confidence;

intensification of

touch and taste

senses;

suppression of

appetite and the

need for sleep

Dehydration,

hyperthermia

(body

temperatures can

reach 109° F),

profuse sweating,

rapid heart rate

(tachycardia), jawclenching and

teeth-grinding,

loss of

consciousness,

damage to brain

cells, permanent

brain damage,

anxiety, paranoia,

depression,

learning

difficulties,

confusion,

memory loss,

fatigue, kidney

failure (difficulty

producing urine),

hyponatraemia,

skin disorders

$10 to

$50

(U.S.)

per

dose

Drug Drug

Nicknames

Drug Type Intended

Pleasurable

Effects

Possible

Harmful Effects

Cost

Taken orally,

usually in

tablet or

capsule form;

can be

snorted,

injected or

taken in

suppository

form

Cost

Appendix B: Common Rave-Related Drugs
34 Rave Parties

Sources include Weir (2000); Lenton, Boys and Norcross (1997); Royal Canadian Mounted Police (2000); U.S. Office

of National Drug Control Policy (2001); National Institute on Drug Abuse (2001); U.S. Drug Enforcement

Administration (2000); Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

(2000); Spruit (1999); National Drug Intelligence Center (2001).

Rohypnol

(flunitrazepam)

LSD

(lysergic acid

diethylamide)

Roofie,

rophie,

roche,

roach,

roach-2, R2, rib,

roopie, rope,

ropie, ruffie,

forget-me

pill, circle,

Mexican

Valium 

Acid,

boomer,

yellow

sunshine,

cid, dose,

trip, hit,

purple haze,

microdot, or

any number

of names

associated

with the

graphic

design on

blotter

paper

Sleeping pill

and preanesthetic

medication

Hallucinogen

Intoxication

without a

hangover

Hallucinations,

feelings of

relaxation

Amnesia,

decreased blood

pressure,

drowsiness, visual

disturbances,

dizziness,

confusion,

gastrointestinal

disturbances,

urinary retention

Frightening

hallucinations,

panic, confusion,

suspicion, anxiety,

flashbacks, nausea,

impaired distance

perception,

unpredictable

behavior

$5 to

$20

per

tablet

$1 to

$10

per

dose

Drug Drug

Nicknames

Drug Type Intended

Pleasurable

Effects

Possible

Harmful Effects

Cost

Taken orally 

Taken orally,

usually in

small tablet

form, in

gelatin squares

or on blotter

paper

Ingestion

Method
Endnotes 35

Endnotes

1 Redhead (1993); Jenkins (1999); Critcher (2000); Toronto Dance Safety Committee (2000);

Shapiro (1999).

2 Presdee (2000); Measham, Aldridge and Parker (2001).

3 Presdee (2000); Rietveld (1993); Jenkins (1999); Shapiro (1999).

4 Pedersen and Skrondal (1999).

5 Jenkins (1999); Steinhauer (2001); Redhead (1993); Shapiro (1999).

6 Presdee (2000); Parker, Aldridge and Measham (1998); Measham, Aldridge and Parker

(2001); Shapiro (1999); Morel (1999).

7 Presdee (2000); Parker, Aldridge and Measham (1998).

8 Measham, Aldridge and Parker (2001); U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy

(2001); Spruit (1999); Addiction and Mental Health Services Corp. (1998); New Zealand

Ministry of Health (1999).

9 Akram and Galt (1999); Measham, Aldridge and Parker (2001).

10 Measham, Aldridge and Parker (2001); Morel (1999); Akram and Galt (1999).

11 Measham, Aldridge and Parker (2001).

12 Measham, Aldridge and Parker (2001); Addiction and Mental Health Services Corp.

(1998); Sherlock and Conner (1999); Van de Wijngaart et al. (1999); National Drug

Intelligence Center (2001).

13 Patterns associated with these so-called rave or club drugs are monitored and reported by

various U.S. drug- monitoring agencies, including the National Institute on Drug Abuse;

the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy; the Office of Applied Studies,

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [in the Drug Abuse Warning

Network (DAWN) "Monitoring the Future" study]; and the Drug Enforcement

Administration. For studies on rave-related drug use in the United Kingdom, see Sherlock

and Conner (1999); Parker, Aldridge and Measham (1998); Measham, Aldridge and Parker

(2001); Akram and Galt (1999); Morris (1998, citing Release 1997). For studies in the

Netherlands, see Van de Wijngaart et al. (1999). For studies in Australia, see Lenton and

Davidson (1999); Lenton, Boys and Norcross (1997); Topp et al. (1999). For studies in

Canada, see Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (2000); Addiction and Mental Health

Services Corp. (1998).

14 Parker, Aldridge and Measham (1998); Redhead (1993); Jenkins (1999); Pedersen and

Skrondal (1999); Maryland Cabinet Council on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (2001);

National Drug Intelligence Center (2001).

15 Parker, Aldridge and Measham (1998); Measham, Aldridge and Parker (2001); South

(1999); Shapiro (1999).

16 U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (2001).
36 Rave Parties

17 Measham, Aldridge and Parker (2001); Sherlock and Conner

(1999); Van de Wijngaart et al. (1999); Topp et al. (1999).

18 U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (2001); Spruit (1999);

Weir (2000); Royal Canadian Mounted Police (2000).

19 Rietveld (1993); Weir (2000); Critcher (2000); Van de Wijngaart et

al. (1999); Lenton and Davidson (1999); Addiction and Mental

Health Services Corp. (1998).

20 Measham, Parker and Aldridge (1998); Parker, Aldridge and

Measham (1998); Measham, Aldridge and Parker (2001); Shapiro

(1999).

21 Measham, Aldridge and Parker (2001); Sherlock and Conner

(1999); Van de Wijngaart et al. (1999); Akram and Galt (1999);

Pedersen and Skrondal (1999); Topp et al. (1999).

22 Presdee (2000); Measham, Aldridge and Parker (2001); Lenton,

Boys and Norcross (1997).

23 Measham, Aldridge and Parker (2001); Centre for Addiction and

Mental Health (2000); Morris (1998, citing Release 1997); Spruit

(1999); Van de Wijngaart et al. (1999); Morel (1999); Adlaf and

Smart (1997); Lenton, Boys and Norcross (1997).

24 Parker, Aldridge and Measham (1998).

25 Measham, Aldridge and Parker (2001); Shapiro (1999); Royal

Canadian Mounted Police (2000); Addiction and Mental Health

Services Corp. (1998); Critcher (2000).

26 Shapiro (1999).

27 Shapiro (1999).

28 Measham, Aldridge and Parker (2001).

29 Measham, Aldridge and Parker (2001); Van de Wijngaart et al.

(1999).

30 Topp et al. (1999).

31 Measham, Aldridge and Parker (2001).

32 Topp et al. (1999).

33 Measham, Aldridge and Parker (2001); Van de Wijngaart et al.

(1999); Topp et al. (1999).

34 Topp et al. (1999).

35 Royal Canadian Mounted Police (2000) (citing Mathias 1999).

36 Jenkins (1999); Measham, Parker and Aldridge (1998); Shapiro

(1999); Spruit (1999).
Endnotes 37

37 Lenton, Boys and Norcross (1997); Akram and Galt (1999); New

Zealand Ministry of Health (1999); Topp et al. (1999).

38 Akram and Galt (1999); Lenton, Boys and Norcross (1997).

39 Measham, Parker and Aldridge (1998); Critcher (2000); Office of

Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services

Administration (2000); Spruit (1999).

40 U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (2001); National

Drug Intelligence Center (2001).

41 Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Services Administration (2000).

42 Spruit (1999); Akram and Galt (1999).

43 Van de Wijngaart et al. (1999); Lenton and Davidson (1999);

Shapiro (1999).

44 Measham, Aldridge and Parker (2001).

45 Morris (1998).

46 U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (2001); Morris

(1998).

47 Calgary Police Service (1999).

48 Steinhauer (2001); Shapiro (1999); Spruit (1999); Toronto Dance

Safety Committee (2000); New Zealand Ministry of Health

(1999); Calgary Police Service (1999); Measham, Aldridge and

Parker (2001); Morris (1998); Spruit (1999); DanceSafe (2001);

Morel (1999).

49 Rietveld (1993).

50 Shapiro (1999).

51 National Drug Intelligence Center (2001).

52 Morris (1998).

53 Morris (1998).

54 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (2000); Moore (2000).

55 Measham, Aldridge and Parker (2001).

56 Steinhauer (2001).

57 Moore (2000).

58 Steinhauer (2001); Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department

(2000).

59 Steinhauer (2001); Cloud (2001); National Drug Intelligence

Center (2001).
38 Rave Parties

60 Parker, Aldridge and Measham (1998); Measham, Aldridge and

Parker (2001).

61 Measham, Aldridge and Parker (2001).

62 Spruit (1999); Branigan and Wellings (1999); Van de Wijngaart et

al. (1999); Morel (1999); Royal Canadian Mounted Police (2000);

Maryland Cabinet Council on Criminal and Juvenile Justice

(2001); Calgary Police Service (1999).

63 Parker, Aldridge and Measham (1998); Measham, Parker and

Aldridge (1998); Spruit (1999); Branigan and Wellings (1999); Weir

(2000); Akram and Galt (1999); Lenton, Boys and Norcross

(1997); Topp et al. (1999); Toronto Dance Safety Committee

(2000); New Zealand Ministry of Health (1999); Morel (1999).

64 Akram and Galt (1999); Morel (1999); Addiction and Mental

Health Services Corp. (1998).

65 Akram and Galt (1999).

66 Akram and Galt (1999).

67 Branigan and Wellings (1999).

68 Shapiro (1999); Calgary Police Service (1999).

69 Jenkins (1999).

70 Spruit (1999); Van de Wijngaart et al. (1999).

71 DanceSafe (2001).

72 Spruit (1999); Van de Wijngaart et al. (1999).

73 Steinhauer (2001).

74 Toronto Dance Safety Committee (2000).

75 Lenton and Davidson (1999).
References 39

References

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in Toronto: Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect in Transition."

Toronto: Addiction and Mental Health Services Corp.

Adlaf, E., and R. Smart (1997). "Party Subculture or Dens of

Doom? An Epidemiological Study of Rave Attendance and

Drug Use Patterns Among Adolescent Students." Journal of

Psychoactive Drugs 29(2):193–198.

Akram, G., and M. Galt (1999). "A Profile of HarmReduction Practices and Co-Use of Illicit and Licit Drugs

Amongst Users of Dance Drugs." Drugs: Education,

Prevention and Policy 6(2):215–225.

Branigan, P., and K. Wellings (1999). "Acceptance of the

Harm Minimization Message in London Clubs and

Underground System." Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy

6(3):389–398.

Calgary (Alberta) Police Service (1999). "Raves."

www.gov.calgary.ab.ca/police/kids/raves

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (2000). "Rave

Attendance Among Ontario Students, 1995-1999." CAMH

Population Studies eBulletin 1 (June). Toronto: Centre for

Addiction and Mental Health.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (2000). "The

Problem With Rave Parties." Problem Solving: A CMPD

Quarterly Report 1(2): 1,4.

Cloud, J. (2001). "Ecstasy Crackdown." Time 157(14):62–64.

Critcher, C. (2000). "'Still Raving': Social Reaction to Ecstasy."

Leisure Studies 19(3):145–162.
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DanceSafe (2001). www.dancesafe.org

Farley, C. (2000). "Rave New World: It's More Than Just

Ecstasy." Time 155(23):70–72.

Jenkins, P. (1999). Synthetic Panics: The Symbolic Politics of Designer

Drugs. New York: New York University Press.

Lenton, S., A. Boys and K. Norcross (1997). "Raves, Drugs

and Experience: Drug Use by a Sample of People Who

Attend Raves in Western Australia." Addiction

92(10):1327–1337.

Lenton, S., and P. Davidson (1999). "Raves, Drugs, Dealing,

and Driving: Qualitative Data From a West Australian

Sample." Drug and Alcohol Review 18:153–161.

Maryland Cabinet Council on Criminal and Juvenile Justice

(2001). "State Ecstasy Action Plan." Baltimore: Maryland

Cabinet Council on Criminal and Juvenile Justice.

Measham, F., J. Aldridge and H. Parker (2001). Dancing on

Drugs: Risk, Health and Hedonism in the British Club Scene.

London and New York: Free Association Books.

Measham, F., H. Parker and J. Aldridge (1998). "The Teenage

Transition: From Adolescent Recreational Drug Use to the

Young Adult Dance Culture in Britain in the Mid-1990s."

Journal of Drug Issues 28(1):9–32.

Moore, R. (2000). "Police, City Concerned by Teen 'Raves'".

The Charlotte Observer, July 19, p. 1A.

Morel, N. (1999). "Recreational Drug Use and the Club

Scene." In C. Stark, B. Kidd and R. Sykes (eds.), Illegal Drug

Use in the United Kingdom: Prevention, Treatment and Enforcement.

Aldershot, England: Ashgate.
References 41

Morris, S. (1998). Clubs, Drugs and Doormen. Crime Detection

and Prevention Series, Paper 86. London: Home Office

Police Research Group.

National Drug Intelligence Center (2001). "Raves."

Information bulletin. Johnstown, Pa.: U.S. Department of

Justice, National Drug Intelligence Center.

www.usdoj.gov/ndic

National Institute on Drug Abuse (2001). "Club Drugs."

Community drug alert bulletin. Bethesda, Md.: National

Institutes of Health. www.nida.nih.gov

New Zealand Ministry of Health (1999). Guidelines for Safe

Dance Parties: The Big Book. Wellington, New Zealand: New

Zealand Ministry of Health.

Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental

Health Services Administration (2000). "The DAWN

Report: Club Drugs." Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department

of Health and Human Services, Office of Applied Studies,

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services

Administration. www.samhsa.gov/oas

Parker, H., J. Aldridge and F. Measham (1998). Illegal Leisure:

The Normalization of Adolescent Recreational Drug Use. London

and New York: Routledge.

Pedersen, W., and A. Skrondal (1999). "Ecstasy and New

Patterns of Drug Use: A Normal Population Study."

Addiction 94(11):1695–1706.

Presdee, M. (2000). Cultural Criminology and the Carnival of

Crime. London and New York: Routledge.
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Redhead, S. (1993). "The Politics of Ecstasy." In S. Redhead

(ed.), Rave Off: Politics and Deviance in Contemporary Youth

Culture. Aldershot, England, and Brookfield, Vt.: Ashgate.

Rietveld, H. (1993). "Living the Dream." In S. Redhead (ed.),

Rave Off: Politics and Deviance in Contemporary Youth Culture.

Aldershot, England, and Brookfield, Vt.: Ashgate.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (2000). Designer Drugs and

Raves. Vancouver, British Columbia: Royal Canadian

Mounted Police "E" Division. www.rcmp-fairmont.org/da

Shapiro, H. (1999). "Dances With Drugs: Pop Music, Drugs

and Youth Culture." In N. South (ed.), Drugs: Cultures,

Controls and Everyday Life. London and Thousand Oaks,

Calif.: Sage.

Sherlock, K., and M. Conner (1999). "Patterns of Ecstasy Use

Amongst Club-Goers on the U.K. 'Dance Scene'".

International Journal of Drug Policy 10:117–129.

South, N. (ed.) (1999). Drugs: Cultures, Controls and Everyday

Life. London and Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.

Spruit, I. (1999). "Ecstasy Use and Policy Responses in the

Netherlands." Journal of Drug Issues 29(3):653–678.

Steinhauer, J. (2001). "Club Owners Are Focus of Effort To

Combat Drug Abuse." New York Times, April 28, pp. A1,

B2.

Topp, L., J. Hando, P. Dillon, A. Roche, and N. Solowij (1999).

"Ecstasy Use in Australia: Patterns of Use and Associated

Harm." Drug and Alcohol Dependence 55:105–115.
References 43

Toronto Dance Safety Committee (2000). "Recommendations

Regarding the Regulation and Licensing of Raves." Toronto:

Toronto Dance Safety Committee.

www.city.toronto.on.ca/drugcentre/ravewise

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (2000). An Overview of

Club Drugs. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice.

U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (2001). Pulse

Check: Trends in Drug Abuse, Midyear 2000–Special Topic:

"Ecstasy" and Other Club Drugs. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Office

of National Drug Control Policy.

Van de Wijngaart, R., D. De Bruin, M. Fris, N. Maalste, and

H. Verbraeck (1999). "Ecstasy Use at Large-Scale Dance

Events in the Netherlands." Journal of Drug Issues

29(3):679–702.

Weir, E. (2000). "Raves: A Review of the Culture, the Drugs

and the Prevention of Harm." Canadian Medical Association

Journal 162(13):1843–1848.

About the Author 45

About the Author

Michael S. Scott

Michael S. Scott is an independent police consultant based in

Savannah, Ga. He was formerly chief of police in Lauderhill,

Fla.; served in various civilian administrative positions in the

St. Louis Metropolitan, Ft. Pierce, Fla., and New York City

police departments; and was a police officer in the Madison,

Wis., Police Department. Scott developed training programs

in problem-oriented policing at the Police Executive Research

Forum (PERF), and is a judge for PERF's Herman Goldstein

Award for Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing. He is the

author of Problem-Oriented Policing: Reflections on the First 20

Years, and coauthor (with Rana Sampson) of Tackling Crime

and Other Public-Safety Problems: Case Studies in Problem-Solving.

Scott holds a law degree from Harvard Law School and a

bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Recommended Readings 47

Recommended Readings

• A Police Guide to Surveying Citizens and Their

Environments, Bureau of Justice Assistance, 1993. This

guide offers a practical introduction for police practitioners

to two types of surveys that police find useful: surveying

public opinion and surveying the physical environment. It

provides guidance on whether and how to conduct costeffective surveys.

• Assessing Responses to Problems: An

Introductory Guide for Police Problem-Solvers, by

John E. Eck (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of

Community Oriented Policing Services, 2001). This guide is

a companion to the Problem-Oriented Guides for Police series. It

provides basic guidance to measuring and assessing

problem-oriented policing efforts.

• Conducting Community Surveys, by Deborah Weisel

(Bureau of Justice Statistics and Office of Community

Oriented Policing Services, 1999). This guide, along with

accompanying computer software, provides practical, basic

pointers for police in conducting community surveys. The

document is also available at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs.

• Crime Prevention Studies, edited by Ronald V. Clarke

(Criminal Justice Press, 1993, et seq.). This is a series of

volumes of applied and theoretical research on reducing

opportunities for crime. Many chapters are evaluations of

initiatives to reduce specific crime and disorder problems.
48 Rave Parties

• Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing:The 1999

Herman Goldstein Award Winners. This document

produced by the National Institute of Justice in

collaboration with the Office of Community Oriented

Policing Services and the Police Executive Research Forum

provides detailed reports of the best submissions to the

annual award program that recognizes exemplary problemoriented responses to various community problems. A

similar publication is available for the award winners from

subsequent years. The documents are also available at

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij.

• Not Rocket Science? Problem-Solving and Crime

Reduction, by Tim Read and Nick Tilley (Home Office

Crime Reduction Research Series, 2000). Identifies and

describes the factors that make problem-solving effective or

ineffective as it is being practiced in police forces in

England and Wales.

• Opportunity Makes the Thief: Practical Theory for

Crime Prevention, by Marcus Felson and Ronald V.

Clarke (Home Office Police Research Series, Paper No. 98,

1998). Explains how crime theories such as routine activity

theory, rational choice theory and crime pattern theory have

practical implications for the police in their efforts to

prevent crime.

• Problem-Oriented Policing, by Herman Goldstein

(McGraw-Hill, 1990, and Temple University Press, 1990).

Explains the principles and methods of problem-oriented

policing, provides examples of it in practice, and discusses

how a police agency can implement the concept.
Recommended Readings 49

• Problem-Oriented Policing: Reflections on the

First 20 Years, by Michael S. Scott (U.S. Department of

Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services,

2000). Describes how the most critical elements of

Herman Goldstein's problem-oriented policing model have

developed in practice over its 20-year history, and proposes

future directions for problem-oriented policing. The report

is also available at www.cops.usdoj.gov.

• Problem-Solving: Problem-Oriented Policing in

Newport News, by John E. Eck and William Spelman

(Police Executive Research Forum, 1987). Explains the

rationale behind problem-oriented policing and the

problem-solving process, and provides examples of

effective problem-solving in one agency.

• Problem-Solving Tips: A Guide to Reducing Crime

and Disorder Through Problem-Solving

Partnerships, by Karin Schmerler, Matt Perkins, Scott

Philips, Tammy Rinehart, and Meg Townsend (U.S.

Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented

Policing Services, 1998) (also available at

www.cops.usdoj.gov). Provides a brief introduction to

problem-solving, basic information on the SARA model

and detailed suggestions about the problem-solving process.

• Situational Crime Prevention: Successful Case

Studies, Second Edition, edited by Ronald V. Clarke

(Harrow and Heston, 1997). Explains the principles and

methods of situational crime prevention, and presents over

20 case studies of effective crime prevention initiatives.
50 Rave Parties

• Tackling Crime and Other Public-Safety Problems:

Case Studies in Problem-Solving, by Rana Sampson

and Michael S. Scott (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of

Community Oriented Policing Services, 2000) (also available

at www.cops.usdoj.gov). Presents case studies of effective

police problem-solving on 18 types of crime and disorder

problems.

• Using Analysis for Problem-Solving: A Guidebook

for Law Enforcement, by Timothy S. Bynum. (U.S.

Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented

Policing Services, 2001). Provides an introduction for

police to analyzing problems within the context of

problem-oriented policing.

• Using Research: A Primer for Law Enforcement

Managers, Second Edition, by John E. Eck and Nancy G.

LaVigne (Police Executive Research Forum, 1994). Explains

many of the basics of research as it applies to police

management and problem-solving.
Other Guides in This Series 51

Other Guides in This Series

Problem-Oriented Guides for Police series:

1. Assaults in and Around Bars. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

2. Street Prostitution. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

3. Speeding in Residential Areas. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

4. Drug Dealing in Privately Owned Apartment Complexes.

Rana Sampson. 2001.

5. False Burglar Alarms. Rana Sampson. 2001.

6. Disorderly Youth in Public Places. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

7. Loud Car Stereos. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

8. Robbery at Automated Teller Machines. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

9. Graffiti. Deborah Lamm Weisel. 2002.

10. Thefts of and From Cars in Parking Facilities. Ronald V.

Clarke. 2002.

11. Shoplifting. Ronald V. Clarke. 2002.

12. Bullying in Schools. Rana Sampson. 2002.

13. Panhandling. Michael S. Scott. 2002.

14. Rave Parties. Michael S. Scott. 2002.

15. Burglary of Retail Establishments. Ronald V. Clarke. 2002.

16. Clandestine Drug Labs. Michael S. Scott. 2002.

17. Acquaintance Rape of College Students. Rana Sampson. 2002.

18. Burglary of Single-Family Houses. Deborah Lamm Weisel.

2002.

19. Misuse of 911. Rana Sampson. 2002.

Companion guide to the Problem-Oriented Guides for Police series:

• Assessing Responses to Problems: An Introductory Guide for

Police Problem-Solvers. John E. Eck. 2002.
52 Rave Parties

Other Related COPS Office Publications

• Using Analysis for Problem-Solving: A Guidebook for Law

Enforcement. Timothy S. Bynum. 2001.

• Problem-Oriented Policing: Reflections on the First 20 Years.

Michael S. Scott. 2001.

• Tackling Crime and Other Public-Safety Problems: Case

Studies in Problem-Solving. Rana Sampson and Michael S.

Scott. 2000.

• Community Policing, Community Justice, and Restorative

Justice: Exploring the Links for the Delivery of a Balanced

Approach to Public Safety. Caroline G. Nicholl. 1999.

• Toolbox for Implementing Restorative Justice and Advancing

Community Policing. Caroline G. Nicholl. 2000.

• Problem-Solving Tips: A Guide to Reducing Crime and

Disorder Through Problem-Solving Partnerships. Karin

Schmerler, Matt Perkins, Scott Philips, Tammy Rinehart, and Meg

Townsend. 1998.

For more information about the Problem-Oriented Guides for Police series

and other COPS Office publications, please call the Department of

Justice Response Center at 1-800-421-6770 or check our website at

www.cops.usdoj.gov.

www.cops.usdoj.gov

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

1100 Vermont Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C. 20530

To obtain details on COPS programs, call the

U.S. Department of Justice Response Center at 1.800.421.6770

Visit the COPS internet web site at the address listed below.

e12011406 Created Date: March 7, 2002