High-pitch alarm targets young people

High-pitch alarm targets young people

www.cnn.com

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A high-pitched device used to combat anti-social behavior among young people has been called "unfair" by children's campaigners in England.


"The Mosquito" has been used to combat anti-social behavior among young people across England

The Children's Commissioner for England, who oversees children's rights, has called for a ban on the ultra-sonic gadget, known as "The Mosquito," which disperses young people by emitting sharp, piercing sounds.

The device causes discomfort to younger ears by exploiting their ability to hear very high frequencies -- a power which declines once they reach their 20s.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This just seems mean! Should we really be segregating and punishing young people, just for being young. This device is being used to keep young people away from certain areas. It does not discriminate between a teen or child just walking down the street or someone up to no good. How can this even be legal?

www.cnn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I don't think it's segregation and punishment of people for being young per se. I think it's more of the fact that crowds of protesters and troublemakers engaged in 'anti-social behaviour' tend to be, well, young.

Originally posted by Beachcoma
I don't think it's segregation and punishment of people for being young per se. I think it's more of the fact that crowds of protesters and troublemakers engaged in 'anti-social behaviour' tend to be, well, young.

really? pre-20s even? The article states:

"a power which declines once they reach their 20s. "

I'm guessing that most protesters are at least in college - not teenagers and highschool stufents.

reply to post by scientist


[...]protesters and troublemakers engaged in 'anti-social behaviour' is what I said. Not your regular protesters. The one's causing trouble.

What concerns me is that this device is not being used just to break up protests and things. The article talks about how it is very popular with shopkeepers. This would lead me to believe that certain shops are trying to keep teens away. I'm sure many of these are in public areas where anyone should be allowed to at least walk by without being subjected to painful, high pitch sounds.

reply to post by evil gnome


Since this is about the UK, I'm guessing it's to deter groups like chavs. If chav behaviour is anything like mat rempits in my country, then they would probably tend to gather outside certain shops, driving actual customers away.

I have just watched an article on this on the main BBC News.
It is indeed targetting anti-social behaviour of teens, (known throughout the UK as "Chav's"), who congregate in public area's.

The frequency of "The Mosquito" can be alterred so that it affects those over 25 too.

Is there anyone that has been around one of these machines and has heard the signal coming from them? I still don't understand the concept of it. Is it used during business hours to keep teens away or just after hours to keep them out of areas?

I don't think you quite understand the situation here, with the "scallies" "chavs" e.t.c, since it's certainly different over there.. They hang around street corners, mugging people, beating people up and vandalising personal property. People are getting knifed and shot all the time, and for what? Because they claim they're bored. They attack fire-fighters, paramedics e.t.c.. when they're risking their lives to help people.

If you think a noise-emitting box is unfair to their rights, I think you should take a step back, and realise exactly what it is they're doing. They should be locked up, and the key thrown away. I think people that wield the human rights card, to defend them is ridiculous. They should be stripped of their rights, until they prove to society, that they deserve them.

At the end of the day, I'd rather have that high-pitched device making little children cry as they go past, than having 10-20 retarded yobs hanging around, posing a threat to the general public.

I apologise if what I said seems a bit harsh, or like I'm having a go at you, it's just the only way to get my point across

I have no issue with you "having a go at me". I do not understand how these machines work or where exactly they are putting them. If they are keeping these hooligans away, then I'm all for it. If they are just being used to keep teens away from certain areas, just for the sake of keeping them away, that is different. I have never been to the UK and have no experience with these "chavs".

I have recently seen a cellphone ringtone marketed to the teen demographic that seems similar to this sound. It's also called mosquito. The idea behing this is it's a ringtone that the teacher can't hear so that these kids can get their texts and calls in class.

Originally posted by jefwane
I have recently seen a cellphone ringtone marketed to the teen demographic that seems similar to this sound. It's also called mosquito. The idea behing this is it's a ringtone that the teacher can't hear so that these kids can get their texts and calls in class.

I guess I am way behind in the technology suff.... I remember getting my 1st pager, seems like yesterday.

reply to post by jefwane


Can't they just put it on 'silent' and rely on the vibrate function?

As a member it has always kinda bothered me to see how almost any new topic posted in the breaking News forums comes with only the OP link.

Anyone posting there can't help on the posting page to have noticed the fields for "Additional News Links" and "Related Threads".

As a mod it is a bit annoying that posters don't take 2 minuttes with the easy-to-use ATS search. Simply type in whatever the subject matter and 'go'. In 99% of nearly any case you'll get a list from a handful to several hundred hits. It might be the reason it's little used... the shere amount of returns can be overwhelming.

Well, it IS a google search, so the most precise matches will be at the top. A quick view on the top results should tell you if and how it relates to the subject matter you are about to post.

Yea, I'm sorry for this little off-topic pep-talk of a mod, only meant friendly instructing.

In this particular case I happened to do the search myself last night when I saw the topic up on Reuters. I considered posting it, so I'll give what I found as an example of a search.

In the News link you get the information these gadgets are called "mosquito devices." Simply type/paste in that (in singularis, -s) and you get this thread on the top.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

It's nearly two tears old, and the topic is about the gaining popularity in use of this noise as ring-tone for mobiles among student in classes. Just as one poster in this thread already have touched.

The old thread also indicates, that the subject matter isn't excactly new, Reuters brings it up now because of the increasing --obviously-- private use, and that there's no invidence in their report on any application for riot controll -- yet. I don't doubt it is there as a secret weapon already.

Just want to add the old thread to the discussion and remind you about the value of the search function and related links.

Thank you!




[edit on 12/2/2008 by khunmoon]

Wow khunmoom, sorry I ruined your night. I did a search on ATS before posting, I searched mosquito device and teens. The only thread that came up was 3 years old, talking about this new invention. As far as I'm concerned, this is a whole different story, now that it has been implemented. If I posted this in the wrong area, I am very sorry, feel free to move it where you like. I always accept constructive criticism and yes, I read the ATS handbook and anything else I could to get prepared to add my input to this site.