from the
Plant A Seed Department
Sonic Teenager Deterrent
Britain has new weapon against
Loitering Youths
Shopkeepers in central England have been trying out a new device that emits an uncomfortable high-pitched noise designed to disperse young loiterers outside their stores without bothering adults.
Police carrying out the pilot project in Staffordshire say some of those who have tested the "Sonic Teenager Deterrent," nicknamed the mosquito, have talked of buying one of their own.
The device which costs 622 pounds (908 euros, 1,081 dollars) "doesn't cause any pain to the hearer," according to Inspector Amanda Davies, quoted by Britain's domestic Press Association news agency.
"The noise can normally only be heard by those between 12 and 22 and it makes the listener feel uncomfortable," she added.
Once in their early 20s, people lose their capacity to hear sounds at such a high pitch.
"It is controlled by the shopkeepers. If they can see through their window that there is a problem, they turn the device on for a few minutes until the group has dispersed," Davies said.
"Shop owners have reported fabulous results and we've been approached by some who are considering buying their own equipment," she said.
Plant A Seed Department
Sonic Teenager Deterrent
Britain has new weapon against
Loitering Youths
Shopkeepers in central England have been trying out a new device that emits an uncomfortable high-pitched noise designed to disperse young loiterers outside their stores without bothering adults.
Police carrying out the pilot project in Staffordshire say some of those who have tested the "Sonic Teenager Deterrent," nicknamed the mosquito, have talked of buying one of their own.
The device which costs 622 pounds (908 euros, 1,081 dollars) "doesn't cause any pain to the hearer," according to Inspector Amanda Davies, quoted by Britain's domestic Press Association news agency.
"The noise can normally only be heard by those between 12 and 22 and it makes the listener feel uncomfortable," she added.
Once in their early 20s, people lose their capacity to hear sounds at such a high pitch.
"It is controlled by the shopkeepers. If they can see through their window that there is a problem, they turn the device on for a few minutes until the group has dispersed," Davies said.
"Shop owners have reported fabulous results and we've been approached by some who are considering buying their own equipment," she said.
8 Comments:
I heard about another case like this, I think it was in Seattle. Shop-keepers piped music that the loiterers couldn't stand out onto the sidewalk.
It worked.
...I'm thinking perhaps some Gene Autry, some Montovani...maybe a bit of the Vienna Boy's Choir...
A tape loop of Hank Williams singing "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive" :)
how bout the musak version of "stairway to heaven".
I don't hate all country...but I guess it depends on how you define 'country'...I'd still shop there if they had the Carter Family on a loop...
For the deterrent, how about Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" played on an ocarina...
paradise-
c'mon, everybody doesn't hate country music. i happen to love classic country, not the new tight pants, hat wearin' heart throbs that are singing today.
does anyone remember the scene from"the shawshank redemption" when he piped in the operatic piece over the loudspeaker to the inmates in the yard?
The prison example got me to thinking that this is a standard part of the military toolkit...I'm thinking of the Manuel Noriega thing...I'm sure there are many other cases...the helicopter scene in Apocalypse Now...
I bet somewhere a bunch of psy-ops people are sitting around thinking about just what kind of music would be most effective to use you know where...
If a shopkeeper had put up one of these Mosquito things near me when I was a teenager, I would surely have put a brick through their plate windows. Maybe that's just me.
thomas-
what music would have sent you over the top? gene autry or montovani?
Post a Comment
<< Home