Council defends use of noise devices

Bradford Council and West Yorkshire Police have defended their use of a controversial device which emits a high-pitch sound to disperse young people.

The gadget, known as the Mosquito, has been used in nuisance hotspots across Bradford since 2006 but there are now calls for it to be banned.

Professor Sir Al Aynsley-Green, the Children's Commissioner for England, and civil liberties campaigners say the devices are indiscriminate because they target all children, including babies, and create a divide between young and old.

A Council spokesman said: "The Mosquito device has been successful in reducing anti-social behaviour among youngsters across the district and is only used when it is necessary."

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "We fully back the (Mosquito) scheme. It has been useful to us."

The Mosquito, set at a frequency only heard by people aged under 25, was first used by West Yorkshire Police to disperse anti-social groups gathering in the centre of Baildon.

The devices have since been deployed outside Thornton newsagents, in Thornton, on The Parade, in Cottingley, and near Clayton Baptist Church.

Now councillors are being asked to grant funding for two more Mosquito units, which would be used in the Spen Valley.

The pair of mobile Mosquito units, for which Kirklees Council is being asked to contribute £3,647, would operate in Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike, Liversedge and Gomersal.

Proposals to install the devices in Station Road, Burley-in-Wharfedale, sparked anger in 2006 when Councillor Matt Palmer (Con, Wharfedale) labelled the suggestion "appalling".

Today, he said: "They are an affront to human rights and completely unfair on young people because they make them feel unwelcome and excluded.

"These things also target babies, so they are just as likely to cause discomfort to a baby in a pushchair as to a yob with a can of spray paint. They are an excuse for the police and Government to focus on other areas of crime."

Inspector Paul Hepworth, who heads Bradford North neighbourhood policing team, said the devices worked well, but only as a last resort.

He said: "We try other methods first through the youth offending team, speaking to parents and trying to divert children away from gathering on street corners.

"We find, as police, that they (Mosquitoes) are a last resort.

"We have got them at Thornton newsagents and Clayton Baptist Church at the moment. Both areas have suffered immense anti-social behaviour. With that goes criminal damage linked in with drinking and all sorts of other issues."

Joginder Singh, owner of Thornton Newsagents, said he experienced "terrible" anti-social behaviour outside his shop before a device was installed four months ago.

He said: "Every Friday and Saturday night, I was calling police two or three times. More than 100 kids were gathering outside and causing problems. They were coming from Queensbury, Denholme and Clayton to meet here.

"When we got the Mosquito, they started to disappear. I am very happy with it."

When the Mosquito was installed in Baildon in mid-2006, Inspector Owen West said it was designed to stop an immediate problem in Northgate and would be used as part of a wider package of crime-fighting measures.

Councillor John Cole (Lib Dem, Baildon) said: "The device did seem to have an effect because it moved young people on from outside Jani's restaurant.

"On the downside, Mosquitoes don't stop young people gathering, they only disperse them. They just moved from Jani's to the Co-op forecourt."

Author -
Publication Telegraph and Argus
Date 13 February 2007
Link www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk