critters,
a social worker friend of mine recently attended a conference where
there was discussion of the control of hooded teens around city
centres through sonic technologies. i'd heard of riot control
experiments with huge microwave-producing equipment that makes human
flesh feel uncomfortable due to heat. but has anyone encountered this
sound solution before? the company is based here in the UK but it
says on the website that it sells the products worldwide. my question
is: how on earth is this legal? is there not EU human rights
legislation on this? those people who are affected are the least
likely to complain, as they are not voters and have little
representation - the frequency of the sound produced is specifically
that which we tend to lose in older age.
http://www.compoundsecurity.co.uk/index.html
it seems almost like a parody, as the home page has a photo of hooded
youths holding their ears... (where is Chris Morris these days?)
quote from the website, from the 'product information' page:
> The Mosquito™ ultrasonic teenage deterrent is the solution to the
> eternal problem of unwanted gatherings of youths and teenagers in
> shopping malls, around shops and anywhere else they are causing
> problems. The presence of these teenagers discourages genuine
> shoppers and customers’ from coming into your shop, affecting your
> turnover and profits. Anti social behavior has become the biggest
> threat to private property over the last decade and there has been
> no effective deterrent until now.
>
> 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
> behaviour”. 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.
apparently the Mosquito is the winner of an Ig Nobel award, and one
strategy for resistance is pretty inventive:
> It was also turned into a ring tone by enterprising teens who
> wanted to get phone calls without teachers knowing
hmm...
ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
Dr. Mark Paterson
Lecturer in Human Geography
School of Geography, Archaeology and Earth Resources,
University of Exeter
http://www.ggy.bris.ac.uk/haptics
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