The Mosquito Bites Teenage Loitering
For those business owners who have wished that groups of rowdy teenagers would stop “hanging around” their establishments, there is now a technological solution.
Since children below twenty years of age can hear at higher frequencies than adults, Inventor Howard Stapleton has created a device emits sounds at these high levels. His invention, called The Mosquito, emanates a pulsating sound that is designed to irritate teenagers so much that it quickly disperses loitering gangs. Adults cannot hear these higher frequencies, and so they are immune to the effects.
Only one working prototype has been put into service, at the Spar convenience store in Barry, Wales. The store’s owner, Robert Gough, had been plagued by teenagers loitering outside, who would smoke, drink, and shout rude words that would discourage potential customers. Worse yet, these disruptive teenagers would also enter in the store and steal, start fights, and cause even more disruptive damage. Since the installation of the Mosquito, the results have been “almost instantaneous” removing the groups of adolescents as if an “anti-teenager spray” had been applied.
Some of the teenagers reported hearing a loud and squeaky sound that “just gets into you”, and others even entered the store with their fingers in their ears, pleading that the owner must turn the sound off. The owner refused, and has observed that one formerly disruptive 12-year-old is now just “doing her business, and leaving”.
According to the website at www.compoundsecurity.co.uk, the device is “completely harmless, even with long-term use”. Stapleton wanted a device that would simply annoy, not harm, teenagers. He even used his own children before he discovered the pulsating tone which broadcasts at 75 decibels, which is completely within government safety limits.
Tests have shown that, like the dog whistle, canines can hear the high-pitched tone as well. However, Compound Security Systems (CSS) Ltd, the manufacturer of the device, claims that dogs are not bothered by the tone. Some adults have said that they can hear the noise, but it can be tuned out, just like the residual white noise at a populated office space or party. CSS has stated that some of their customers might be mildly annoyed by the noise, but they need only use The Mosquito for a few minutes to produce its desired effect on the groups of teenagers.
The company has received nearly one hundred orders for the device, which retails at 500 pounds. It is as easy to install as an exterior spotlight, and works within a fifteen to twenty meter range.
No doubt teenagers in Wales and abroad are learning about this device, and are preparing some sort of way to counteract it. Some believe the device could become a target for teenage vandals, which is probably why CSS offers a metal security cage to protect the device.
There can be no doubt that if the Mosquito sweeps Europe, then it will make its way to North America and help rid us of the problem of loitering gangs of teenagers. If that happens, prepare for a future that has a Mosquito in front of every store.
