TO: How would you describe the teen party scene in Palo Alto?

RP: From my experience, most of the parties in Palo Alto are thrown when parents go out of town, but sometimes you find a parent-sponsored party. Most of the people that come are invited through word of mouth, people just show up and the number keeps snowballing; that is generally when the police start to hear about it. When the amount of people gets uncontrollable, it starts going downhill from there.

TO: Based on your experience, how many parties do the police bust per weekend?

RP: It’d have to say it’s seasonal. The odds are that there’s going to be at least one party somewhere every weekend. The frequency increases when school is out and in the summertime.

TO: How does it compare to the amount/style of teen partying in Palo Alto compare to the amount/style in nearby cities?

RP: I could only guess that it’s similar; kids are kids.

TO: Based on your experience, what is typically found at parties?

RP: Alcohol is always present. However, marijuana is extremely common.

TO: Do you think alcohol or drugs are more abused by teens in Palo Alto?

RP: I’d say alcohol, but marijuana is also extremely popular.

TO: The [Social Norms] surveys we take at Gunn say that the majority of the student body does not use drugs or alcohol. How do the survey’s results compare to what you have found as a police officer?

RP: I believe those results. It’s hard to say when we (the Palo Alto Police) are only dealing with the ones who do abuse drugs and alcohol. We have a skewed opinion because we are dealing with that minority percentage 100 percent of the time.