A controversial weapon in the war in the UK against anti-social behavior by teens should be banned, the country's children's commissioner will warn this week in a move that threatens a new intergovernment department battle over "hoodies' rights."
The row is centered around the so-called Mosquito, a £500 (US$1,000) device that emits a high-pitched whine loud enough to drive away teenagers in the vicinity. Marketed as the "ultrasonic teenage deterrent," it is increasingly being adopted in the UK by shopkeepers, local councils and even homeowners to disperse gangs of young people because it operates on a frequency that can be detected only by under-25s, whose hearing is more acute.
Al Aynsley-Green, who was appointed by the government to champion children's interests, will argue the Mosquito infringes their human rights and penalizes innocent children. Parents have also questioned its long-term effects on children's hearing.
Aynsley-Green will launch a campaign this week calling on businesses to abandon the tactic and encouraging children to report instances of its being used against them.
But a Home Office source said Home Secretary Jacqui Smith backed the use of the Mosquito as a way of combating yob culture, adding: "We would always put ourselves on the side of the law-abiding minority rather than on the side of gangs of hoodies."
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown last week cited teenage lawlessness and gang violence as a key priority for his government and the clash over the Mosquito marks an early test.
Brown had signaled a change of tack in his early months by disbanding the Respect Taskforce set up by former British prime minister Tony Blair to tackle yob culture, putting its staff under the control of the Department for Children and Families, which was seen as a signal that he would offer more carrot and less stick to disaffected teenagers.
That approach has come under pressure, however, with opposition Tories attacking the government over levels of street violence and teenage offenses.
Thousands of Mosquitos have been bought by police forces, retailers, housing associations, train companies and private individuals who want to get rid of teenagers loitering near their homes.
The device consists of a black box that emits a pulsing noise several times a second over a 15m radius, loud enough to force children to leave the area within minutes. It is advertised to prevent unruly teenagers from discouraging "genuine shoppers."
Its manufacturers insist they have sought legal advice that it does not contravene human rights and that very young children are not affected by it. But the UK's civil liberties group Liberty said it is a degrading and indiscriminate weapon that targets children in a way that would provoke uproar if it were used against other groups.
"I would think the Home Office would be on the side of child protection," Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti said. "This device could affect a babe in arms as well as a teenager. Imagine such a device applied to people of one race or gender and ask what position they would take."
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