Youth plea to ban ‘Mosquito’ device

The rear of Shaw’s 'Naughty But Nice' cafe in Market Street

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OLDHAM Youth Council has hit out over the use of “inhumane, discriminatory and ineffective” high-frequency alarms to disperse groups of youngsters.

Youth councillors addressed last night’s full Oldham council meeting to express their concerns about the use of the “mosquito” device following news that a Shaw cafe uses one to drive youngsters away.

The device emits a high-frequency sound which can generally only be heard by under-25s. They are placed outside buildings prone to anti-social gatherings.

Youth councillors claimed the use of these devices is a breach of their human rights and called on Oldham Council to reduce the risk of discrimination against the young.

Jay Turner (17), chair of Oldham Youth Council, said: “The use of the mosquito device is something we strongly disagree with. If there is a problem with young people’s behaviour, the mosquito isn’t the way to deal with it.

“Instead we need to work with young people to find positive solutions that address the causes of the behaviour. Provide young people a place they can meet, provide positive activities, make young people feel valued. If this device targeted a single gender or race there would be public outcry.”

One of the emitters is outside the Naughty But Nice cafe on High Street, Shaw. Owner Diane Lloyd fitted it to combat the constant problem of youths causing trouble at the back of the premises.

Around 3,500 mosquito emitters are in use in the UK. They have been banned by councils in Sheffield, Staffordshire, Bradford and Newport.

Oldham Council leader Councillor Jim McMahon won agreement for a move to investigate the issue

“We can’t have a device that cannot discriminate between anti social behaviour and innocent children,” he saud. “But we need to address why the device was put there.”