Device gets young people to buzz off

By Martha Wickett - Salmon Arm Observer Published: May 18, 2011 9:00 AM

If you’ve heard an irritating mosquito-like noise when you’ve been downtown after midnight recently, you’re either under 25 or your ears are more youthful than you are.  In March, city staff installed what’s called a Mosquito device downtown, in order to combat vandalism. The device can emit high-frequency sounds that can typically be heard only by people under 25 years, and is set to go on at midnight. The ability to hear high frequencies usually deteriorates with age and, for young people, the high-pitched sound is annoying and can be headache-producing.  Although Dale McTaggart, the city’s director of public works and engineering, was reluctant to talk publicly about the device, he did tell the Observer that staff are considering purchasing two more.  He said they cost $1,100, with an additional $700 for a protective covering around them.  City council was not made aware of the use of the first device, he said, but the plan will likely be brought forward at the next council meeting.

McTaggart said the city spends about $10,000 annually repairing vandalism downtown.  The idea to purchase one came when Brad Ackerman, parks and recreation foreman, heard of them at conferences he attended.  The use of mosquito devices has sparked controversy in different locations around the world because it singles out young people, most of whom are not lawbreakers.  Robert Holmes of the BC Civil Liberties Association told the Observer in an email that his association opposed the device in 2009 when Vancouver’s city parkade company suggested it was going to install them – and the plan was dropped.  “Aside from being discriminatory based upon age, and annoying generally based upon inflicting pain simply for standing in proximity, the use of such devices (at least in Vancouver) appeared to be in violation of the city’s noise bylaw,” he wrote. (more)