Police shut down a 100-person illegal rave in an abandoned old Argos store in East London last weekend.
The city’s Metropolitan Police have confirmed details of the crackdown on their Met Engage site, saying that they attended to complaints of loud music coming from the building on Sandringham Road in Dalston at 8am on Sunday (May 10).
The complaints came from two streets away, with two calls coming in saying the rave, or “unlicensed music event”, was causing disruption to local residents.
Police estimated that there were “around 100 people within the venue” at the time of the calls, and after consulting the local Hackney council, they attended the venue at 11:40am, and under Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, asked 20 people to leave the venue and seized a large quantity of sound equipment.
They noted that one person was arrested who was wanted by Westminster Magistrates Court for failing to attend court for a charge concerning an offensive weapon. No arrests were made as a direct result of the rave. They also recovered three stolen bicycles, which police said they hoped to return to their owners.
Some of the people in attendance at the rave were protected by ‘Squatters Rights’, police acknowledged, and they were not asked to leave the venue. Police left the scene at 1:20pm.
In 2018, NME investigated the rise of illegal raves, with photojournalist Connor Matheson noting: “Underground music is thriving more than ever. It’s word-of-mouth, behind closed doors. You have to know about it to know where it is.
“There’s so many unusual spaces and DIY venues popping up all the time. There’s more free parties and stuff than ever. There’s been a shift away from the confines of traditional night out towards something more relaxed.”