"Kids Be Gone": Calls To Ban Sonic Device That Repels Youth
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Are gatherings of teenagers and young adults affecting your business and your profits?
The Mosquito ultrasonic teenage deterrent is the solution to the eternal problem of unwanted gatherings of youths and teenagers in shopping malls and around shops. The presence of these teenagers discourages genuine shoppers and customers’ from coming to your shop, affecting your turnover and profits.
Acclaimed by the Police forces of many areas of the United Kingdom, the Mosquito ultrasonic teenage deterrent has been described as “the most effective tool in our fight against anti social behavior”. Shop keepers around the world have purchased the device to move along unwanted gatherings of teenagers and anti social youths. Railway companies have placed the device to discourage youths from spraying graffiti on their trains and the walls of stations.
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With an effective range of between forty and 60 feet customers all over the world have shown that teenagers are acutely aware of the Mosquito and usually move away from the area within just a couple of minutes. The system is completely harmless even with long term use. The Times newspaper in England reports that the device was first used at a Spar shop in Barry, South Wales, where the owner Robert Gough was enthusiastic about the device's success in driving away the local youths. "Either someone has come along and wiped them off the face of the earth, or it's working" he is quoted as saying.
It seems that there is a very real medical phenomenon known as presbycusis or age related hearing loss which, according to The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, "begins after the age of 20 but is usually significant only in persons over 65". It first affects the highest frequencies (18 to 20 kHz) notably in those who have turned 20 years of age". It is possible to generate a high frequency sound that is audible only to teenagers.
Mosquito Device
Call to ban sonic device that targets the young
Wednesday, 13 February 2008
The children's commissioners for England and Scotland have joined civil liberties campaigners to call for the banning of a device which emits a high-pitched noise specifically designed to disperse young people.
The gadget, called the Mosquito, was invented in 2006 and is used in public places to force groups of teenagers to leave the area. It emits high-pitched frequencies to which babies, children and young people are particularly sensitive. Campaigners say around 3,500 devices are in use.
Yesterday, the Children's Commissioner for England, Professor Sir Al Aynsley-Green, launched the "Buzz Off" campaign to ban the device. "I have spoken to many children and young people from all over England who have been deeply affected by ultra-sonic teenage deterrents," he said.
"These devices are indiscriminate and target all children and young people, including babies, regardless of whether they are behaving or misbehaving."
Kathleen Marshall, Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland, said: "Its use would not be tolerated for any other section of our society. Young people have a right to assemble and socialise with their friends, without being treated as criminals."
Shami Chakrabarti, the director of the human rights group Liberty, said: "Imagine the outcry if a device was introduced that caused blanket discomfort to people of one race or gender, rather than to our kids."
The Mosquito was invented by Howard Stapleton, of Merthyr Tydfil, south Wales, and is manufactured by the security systems company Compound. The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), which represents 33,000 local shops, has defended its use.
James Lowman, the association's chief executive, said: "Unfortunately, in many locations around the country, retailers are victims of anti-social gangs of youths that congregate around their premises. These youths deter customers, intimidate staff and can commit vandalism and violence."
Call to ban sonic device that targets the young - Crime, UK - Independent.co.uk
