Los Angeles County Electronic Music Task Force requires more water, police, amnesty boxes and drug education materials at raves

Los Angeles County’s Electronic Music Task Force will not ask the Board of Supervisors to ban rave-like festivals on public land, according to recommendations finalized Dec. 3.The group made up of medical, fire, police and public health officials is expected to forward its 55 recommendations to the county’s leaders later this month, once county attorneys ensure it is enforceable, according to Wesley Ford, chair of the task force and head of the Substance Abuse Prevention and Control at the county public health department…

…The Electronic Music Task Force’s 55 recommendations include a minimum age of 18 for attendees; more access to water; a requirement for four police officers per 1,000 guests; amnesty boxes before security checkpoints; and the development of “evidence-based educational and informational materials on alcohol and drug use.”

If the county approves the recommendations, venues would have to stop serving alcohol one hour before the end of the festival, and provide a place for people to sober up for up to two hours after the last song.

The recommendations would beef up security too, calling for drug-sniffing dogs, DUI checkpoints and thorough searches both inside and outside the venue.

The task force has asked that the Board of Supervisors create an ongoing group to review and update the recommendations on an as-needed basis. It also recommended expanding the requirements to cover not just electronic music festivals but all large-scale music events on county-owned property.

Gary Richards, the head of Hard Events, a Live Nation-owned promoter, declined to comment Thursday on how the recommendations might affect his business, saying only that he felt the task force members did “their due diligence.”

The task force originally suggested to limit attendance to 40,000, according to a draft of the recommendations. The final draft does not include any reference to an attendance cap…

 

Source: Los Angeles County task force wants more water, police and amnesty boxes at raves