High-Pitched Device Drives Away Teens

Civil Rights Groups Outraged, Claim Device May Cause Long-Term Health Effects

(AP)  As 15-year-old Eddie Holder sprinted from his apartment for school one recent morning, he held his hand to one ear to block out a shrill, piercing noise.

The sound was coming from a wall-mounted box, but not everyone can hear it. The device, called the Mosquito, is audible only to teens and young adults and was installed outside the building to drive away loiterers.

The gadget made its debut in the United States last year after infuriating civil liberties groups when it was first sold overseas. Already, almost 1,000 units have been sold in the U.S. and Canada, according to Daniel Santell, the North America importer of the device under the company name Kids Be Gone.

To Eddie, it's tormenting.

"It's horrible, loud and irritating," he said. "I have to hurry out of the building because it's so annoying. It's this screeching sound that you have to get away from, or it will drive you crazy."

The high-frequency sound has been likened to fingernails dragged across a chalkboard or a pesky mosquito buzzing in your ear. It can be heard by most people in their teens and early 20s who still have sensitive hair cells in their inner ears. Whether you can hear the noise depends on how much your hearing has deteriorated - how loud you blast your iPod, for example, could potentially affect your ability to detect it.

Civil liberties groups in England, Australia and Scotland have expressed outrage over the device, and England's government-appointed Children's Commission proposed a ban. They describe it as a weapon that infringes on the basic rights of young people, and claim it could even have unknown long-term health effects.

The $1,500 device has also been challenged in some American cities and towns that have proposed installing it, with some criticizing the tactic as needlessly cruel.

Santell said the noise can be heard by animals and babies, but is bothersome only to children older than 12 and becomes unbearable after several minutes, making it a perfect teen-repellent. The same sound is also used as a cell phone ring tone meant to fall on the deaf ears of adults, and is a popular download on the Internet.

The town of Great Barrington, Mass., banned the device last year after a movie theater owner installed one.

"There was an outcry, and people didn't like the idea of torturing kids' ears like that," said Ronald Dlugosz, a town official. "People here don't tolerate that kind of stuff."

Milford, Conn. faced similar resistance when the city announced plans to install the Mosquito in a park. They increased police patrols instead.

Elsewhere, there have been few or no complaints. A mall in Calvert County, Md., announced plans to introduce the buzz to disperse skateboarders, and officials and police said they haven't had any outcry. A school district in Columbia, S.C. recently installed one on the front grill of a school vehicle and another in a parking lot where students gather after high school games, with no complaints.

"We'd have crowds gather in parking lots and there'd be the usual trash talk, then you'd have fights," said Rick McGee, the school district's emergency services manager. "Now there's no confrontation at all, they just get aggravated and leave within a few minutes."

Santell, the device's marketer, said most of the company's inquiries are from major corporations and government agencies looking for a way to protect private property. Overseas, complaints arose when the device was projected into public spaces, like sidewalks.

Santell said it does not violate any noise ordinances, but added that the company will soon be selling the same product with a higher "power," or decibel output, that will only be sold to government agencies.

Carmen Ramirez, superintendent of the Queens apartment building where Eddie lives that recently installed the Mosquito, described it as "a miracle."

"We used to have young men here all of the time, bothering people in the building and doing illegal things," said Ramirez, 50. "As soon as we put it up, they were gone and they haven't been back. If they return, we'll just put up more."

A spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union said the organization does not yet have a position on the issue. But James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University, said crowd-monitoring devices in the hands of private businesses and citizens is "dangerous."

"There is a significant problem with giving people a tool like this and empowering the public to take over the tasks of law enforcement," Fox said. "It can certainly be used in a way that's inappropriate, and without a doubt it will be."

Nobody at the Queens apartment building could say where the loitering kids had gone after the Mosquito was installed.

"I just deal with it, but I can't be around here for too long," Eddie Holder said. "If I am going to stand around somewhere, it won't be here."

[cpaide]

they should install these in high school classrooms for when the kids are being unruly. you know: teacher hits the panic button!

[libsrweak]

the liberal media HAS A MORE DANGEROUS and LONGER TERM EFFECT....

[chatmandu002]

Oh my god... a vast right wing conspiracy.

[tireslinger]

Being a big supporter of self advocacy, I think this is a grand idea! Owners of any public properties, post rules...ignored. Call the police...ignored and/or the kids return before the squad car even turns the corner. Depend on the kids to make responsible choices...give me a break. Depend on parents, even the ones that keep up on their kid''s comings and goings, can''t be with them the whole time they''re gone. What''s left?? These devices. Make it inhospitable for kids to stay where they shouldn''t be, for whatever reason, and they will leave.

[bobnjersey]

how about the low frequency version. outputs the resonant frequency of the bowel ... and i''ll leave the rest to your imagination.

[mandylou4u]

I''ll tell you what''s abuse. Young kids that age hanging out, unbenounced to their parents, where their not supposed to be and doing drugs or having s.e.x. That''s the abuse, they will listen to their headphones loud enough to destroy and have permanant damage on their own. I really don''t think this device is anything but safe and regulatory. Keep the kids off the street. At least the police aren''t beating the c.r.a.p. out of them or stun gunning them.

[secondthink]

My co-worker found a track with that noise on the internet. He couldn''t hear it, BUT I COULD (I''m 42). He played it again later to make sure I hadn''t seem his screen, and yep I could still hear it.

[rf35]

One in front of every 7-11 in America. And one for our local theater...it''s become the hang-out of choice for the wannabe gang hoods and the illegal teens that work in the fields by day and sell pot by night.

[watcher269-2009]

Now all we need is one of these for Bush, Cheney and the GOP!

[flreason]

Save your money. There is a much easier way to repel teens: play classical music. Some shopsowners have found it very effective in discouraging teen loiterers...and it only has permanent damaging effects on the listeners if you''re playing Wagner (LOL).

[rational_1]

Hmmm, I think these things might prove quite useful when the slacker kid turns 18 and refuses to leave home.

[element51]

While this does seem a bit extreme I don''t see much difference between this and having your ear drums shattered while waiting at a stop light when some kid pulls up next you with a sound system that actually vibrates you whole vehicle. And because we don''t like that we are just old FARTS. (I bet they censor that.) If people don''t want kids to congregate around their businesses or homes, and they ask them to leave and are ignored, you can''t blame them for taking action. Sad that this stuff has to happen though.

[michellem99-2009]

I know a man in his 50s that can hear more than I. He can hear alot. I have never been able to hear them high tones. What dumb idea.

[jackie0428]

HA HA LOL
This rocks!!!
I''ll take two!