Sound system off-key as youth deterrent
It is supposed to be the latest device in tackling anti-social behaviour by gangs of yobs, but early indications show the Mosquito device may not be all that effective.
Two of the devices, which caused controversy nationally over claims they could impact on young people’s human rights, have been put up on a Newark estate.
The devices emit a high-pitched whine said to be intolerable to the under-25s, whose hearing is more acute.
It is hoped the noise will deter youths from meeting outside the Meering Avenue shops on the Winthorpe Road estate — an area plagued by rowdy behaviour, fighting and criminal damage.
Two Mosquito devices, at £500 each, have gone up above two shops, the Inferno Tanning Studio and the Kingfisher Chip Shop.
They have been paid for by Newark and Sherwood Homes.
A third device will follow and will be paid for by the police and the owner of the A. and S. Convenience Store.
A timer means the devices come on between 4pm and midnight.
Despite the hopes of keeping youths away, it seems so far they have not been put off.
On Monday afternoon three teenagers in baseball caps and hoodies approached Meering Avenue from Wolsey Road and sheltered in the doorway of A. and S. Convenience Stores, sharing a cigarette.
One boy said the Mosquito emitted a shrill warble but it was little more than an annoyance and would not keep him away.
“I love the sound. No police or council are telling me where I can be, what I can do. They say they’re doing something about it but they’re doing nothing,” he said.
Another boy said: “They should put something down here for us to do and then we wouldn’t be hanging about.”
Two of the teenagers said they were among a group of youths caught on security camera destroying a mountain bike late at night.
The footage was shown to their parents, and several stills were used on the front page of the Advertiser in a story telling how the mosquitoes were to be fitted to help solve the estate’s problems.
One boy, who said he was expelled from the Magnus Church of England School, asked if the reporter had seen him on the film.
He said: “Did you see me? I did a little dance while the bike was being smashed up. I’m famous for my dancing on that film.
“We don’t come down here that much now after the cops showed that CCTV to our mums.”
When asked about the Mosquito, another youth said: “It’s a really high-pitched noise. It keeps going on and off. It’s really boring. It’s not something you’d want to sleep next to.
“What if it damages our hearing? What if we get brain cancer from it?”
Newark’s police chief, Inspector Martin Holford, was disappointed by the reaction of the three boys but hoped that time and the addition of a third Mosquito might change their stance.
“I hope they do the trick and dissuade them from gathering there and causing hassle and grief to the local population,” he said.
“We are not dumb enough to think that the Mosquitoes alone will solve the problems down there. They are one tool of many.”
Mr Fin McElhinney, the customer services director for Newark and Sherwood Homes, said: “We are confident this will contribute to solving the problem of anti-social behaviour.
“It is just one tool alongside many.”
He said they were satisfied there were no risks to the health of the youths.It is supposed to be the latest device in tackling anti-social behaviour by gangs of yobs, but early indications show the Mosquito device may not be all that effective.
Two of the devices, which caused controversy nationally over claims they could impact on young people’s human rights, have been put up on a Newark estate.
The devices emit a high-pitched whine said to be intolerable to the under-25s, whose hearing is more acute.
It is hoped the noise will deter youths from meeting outside the Meering Avenue shops on the Winthorpe Road estate — an area plagued by rowdy behaviour, fighting and criminal damage.
Two Mosquito devices, at £500 each, have gone up above two shops, the Inferno Tanning Studio and the Kingfisher Chip Shop.
They have been paid for by Newark and Sherwood Homes.
A third device will follow and will be paid for by the police and the owner of the A. and S. Convenience Store.
A timer means the devices come on between 4pm and midnight.
Despite the hopes of keeping youths away, it seems so far they have not been put off.
On Monday afternoon three teenagers in baseball caps and hoodies approached Meering Avenue from Wolsey Road and sheltered in the doorway of A. and S. Convenience Stores, sharing a cigarette.
One boy said the Mosquito emitted a shrill warble but it was little more than an annoyance and would not keep him away.
“I love the sound. No police or council are telling me where I can be, what I can do. They say they’re doing something about it but they’re doing nothing,” he said.
Another boy said: “They should put something down here for us to do and then we wouldn’t be hanging about.”
Two of the teenagers said they were among a group of youths caught on security camera destroying a mountain bike late at night.
The footage was shown to their parents, and several stills were used on the front page of the Advertiser in a story telling how the mosquitoes were to be fitted to help solve the estate’s problems.
One boy, who said he was expelled from the Magnus Church of England School, asked if the reporter had seen him on the film.
He said: “Did you see me? I did a little dance while the bike was being smashed up. I’m famous for my dancing on that film.
“We don’t come down here that much now after the cops showed that CCTV to our mums.”
When asked about the Mosquito, another youth said: “It’s a really high-pitched noise. It keeps going on and off. It’s really boring. It’s not something you’d want to sleep next to.
“What if it damages our hearing? What if we get brain cancer from it?”
Newark’s police chief, Inspector Martin Holford, was disappointed by the reaction of the three boys but hoped that time and the addition of a third Mosquito might change their stance.
“I hope they do the trick and dissuade them from gathering there and causing hassle and grief to the local population,” he said.
“We are not dumb enough to think that the Mosquitoes alone will solve the problems down there. They are one tool of many.”
Mr Fin McElhinney, the customer services director for Newark and Sherwood Homes, said: “We are confident this will contribute to solving the problem of anti-social behaviour.
“It is just one tool alongside many.”
He said they were satisfied there were no risks to the health of the youths.
