ABSTRACT
Urban free parties are of criminological interest in themselves: they are unlicensed, unregulated and held in venues that have been ‘borrowed’ from their owners. These events are self-policed according to their own moral laws, rather than the laws of the state, with security arrangements used to help enforce these moral codes and safeguard against the risks of gang infiltration, police intervention, violence and theft. Despite this, the majority of recent research on ‘raves’ looks at the limited categories of drug use and/or supply within events, with most focus on ecstasy use, and more recently on ketamine and poly-drug use (Chinet et al., 2007; Riley, Morey, and Griffin, 2008; Fernández-Calderón et al., 2011). The majority of research that goes beyond this drugs focus is outdated and focused on the rave ‘heyday’ of the late 1980s and early 1990s (Redhead, 1997; Hemment, 1998; Maylon, 1998), often centring on the early Acid House scene. Whilst the research base on legitimate bouncers and security is still relatively thin, there is almost no research at all, past or present, on the security arrangements at free parties, except for a short section in Chatterton and Hollands (2003).
