$20,000 riot bill Parents' anger at party boy

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THE parents of a teenager who hosted a wild and boozy house party could be hit with a $20,000 bill from police. As Jo and Stephen Delaney vowed to discipline their 16-year-old son Corey, Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon warned the couple could be made to pay for their son's mistake. "I have certainly called for a report to look at the costs involved and whether there is a way to recoup our cost, particularly around police vehicles being damaged," Ms Nixon said. Mr and Ms Delaney cut short their Gold Coast holiday yesterday to confront their son. The couple were livid that Corey betrayed their trust by throwing a party at their Narre Warren home that spun out of control when a rioting mob of up to 500 youths pelted officers with rocks and bottles, and smashed police cars. "We're absolutely disgusted that he could do this, not only to us but to our neighbourhood," Ms Delaney said. "We organised for him to stay with a friend -- not at our home -- and obviously Corey's gone behind our backs and decided somewhere along the line to throw a party." Mr Delaney said he was so angry he had barely spoken to Corey, his stepson, who posted an open invitation to the party on MySpace. "He won't speak to us and you can understand why, because I think he knows what's coming," Mr Delaney said. "We've had a lot of family and friends trying to talk to him to make him understand what he's done. He seems very blase about it. "He's got to start to show some remorse. We're a family that's extremely upset." Corey planned to dodge his parents for as long as possible. "I don't answer their calls, I just hang up. When they get home, I'm not going to be home." But later, he told the Herald Sun he was sorry for the damage caused to neighbouring homes. "I do feel sorry for everyone in the area," Corey said. "It was really unfair what happened to them and that people were throwing bottles and breaking stuff. I'm sorry that it all happened." Ms Nixon lectured the Delaneys for leaving Corey unsupervised. "When all else fails, you are their parent, not their best mate." But Corey said he didn't think his family should pay the police bill. Corey said police in bullet-proof vests told the partygoers inside the Galloway Drive home not to leave the house as hundreds of drunken teens rampaged outside. "There was nothing I could do to stop the people outside," he said. "If it was on my property or in my house, I'd have stopped it. "But because it was up the street and the cops made us stay inside, forced us to stay inside and locked the door on us, we weren't allowed out. "We did everything they told us to do." After speaking to his mother by phone, Corey said: "She wanted to know first thing if the house was all right and if the animals were all right, that they didn't get away. "She said, `All your mates and you have made a fool of yourself'." Corey said he knew only 100 of the 500 youths who turned up. Police have spoken to Corey's father, who lives in China. Mr Delaney said the speed news of a teen party could spread on the net was frightening. "It's scary, it's a major problem," he said. Police had to call for back-up, including the dog squad and the police helicopter, in a response Ms Nixon estimated at $20,000. "I was shocked and appalled by their reaction and disturbed that my members had to deal with such a volatile situation in a quiet suburban street," she said. "These were 16-year-olds, with no supervision and access to large quantities of alcohol -- a recipe for disaster." Ms Nixon warned criminal charges could follow. "We're still investigating the matter," she said. Ms Nixon said about 21 per cent of the population was aged 10 to 24 but half of all offenders processed by police were in that age group. She said Victoria Police was chairing a high-level taskforce trying to tackle the state's youth crime wave. Ms Nixon said rehabilitation and education was vital, suggesting a curfew would be hard to enforce. "I think they're very hard to police. They take large amounts of resources," she said. "I think in different parts of the world it's the answer but I come back to the idea that it's the responsibility of parents to know where their kids are." Child Safety Commissioner Bernie Geary, who last month slammed parents for serving their kids alcohol, said 16-year-olds should not be left home alone.

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Uploaded: January 14th, 2008 @ 3:14 pm
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