Teenagers have a new enemy and it goes by the name of Sonic Teenager Deterrent. The device which can be attached to the outside wall of shops, offices and homes, sends out ultra high-pitched 80-decibel bursts(up to 16khz) of pulsing sounds that can be heard by those under the age of 20. Adults are not affected by the sounds due to the body’s ability to detect some frequency waves disappear after the age of 20. For those people who are lucky enough to hear it, the sound is so distressing, it forces you to clutch your ears in discomfort and run for the hills. The sound has been described “like a demented insect or a very badly-played violin.” Owners of the device can control the strength of the signal and it does not penetrate indoors. The device has proved so successful in warding off gangs that Police and local authorities in the UK are supporting the gadget. Price:$1100
UPDATE: March 24,2006:Teen-repellent shop siren silenced by human rights fears (AFP)
[via Daily Telegraph]
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31 responses
Mar 1, 2006 at 3:20 pm
I like the fact that they nammed it the “Sonic Teenager Deterrent” or STD… lol So teenages beware or will will fill your ears with our STD! Awesome!
Mar 1, 2006 at 4:15 pm
There has already been a human rights case agaist this device for the freedom of movement. It is not in the right of anyone to cause distress to another individual the police are only people legally allowed to move youths off public land ie the streets. There are also only loytering laws so causing distress to anyone under the age of 20 is also illegal, how it fair on 1 person to have to deal with that? If i ever see one im gona put ear plus in and smash it then smash the fuckers who put it up, should at least kill groups of yobs far more efficient than moving them on the poor soul that cant afford 1 or stoping innocent people. POWER TO THE COMMUNIST STATE
Mar 1, 2006 at 5:03 pm
this gadget has many flaws in the theory behind it. yes there may be a certain wavelength that we cannot hear after we turn 20, but i doubt that. i know a few people who have excellent hearing and are over 20 and they could probably hear the noise that box makes.
yes its a little annoying to have a group of mean looking teenagers loitering around your store, but whose to say that when those teenagers turn 20, they wont come back?
on top of that, suppose a teenager is out at a store with their parents, or not loitering; just being a normal customer. you mean to tell me that everytime i leave a store and go to my car that i have to have my ears blasted with an annoying noise? (teenagers in the US are able to drive at the age of 16)
certain people are sensitive to loud noises and what would be just a little loud to one may actually deafen another person. If i was under the age of 20, someone would be paying for causing harm to my hearing.
As a citizen of the US at the age of 21, i think this idea is terrible. This machine blasts a noise so many seconds and would effect all people under 20 years of age. (I believe that people over 20 can hear it too and they should do more tests on their sonic deterrent)
If the businesses get ahold of this machine, they won’t think about who their customers are, and that there are more things going on than just some hoodlums in front of the store. Theres people out there who may want to enter and actually purchase things, but i wouldnt wanna go near a store with an annoying noise coming from it, and i wouldnt return becuase of the noise either.
So business owners, enjoy losing customers.
Just a little wake up call from your everyday american citizen.
any things u have to say IM me at VampireHeart20 on AIM
Mar 1, 2006 at 6:11 pm
Frankie, do you hear yourself speak?
I love it when people make a scientific claim, against science with no additional scientific knowledge. I couldn’t stop laughing after i read:
“yes there may be a certain wavelength that we cannot hear after we turn 20, but i doubt that.”
Honestly, what does that mean?
Are you agreeing or disagreeing with it?
Also, i think you may have missed the entire point of the device, but if you go to their website you see that the device is like an alarm somewhat and isn’t blasting 24/7. What business owner in their right mind, would want a machine that constantly deters a large number of people. If a window is broken or sumthing, then it will sound. Anyways, I dont think it’s that big of a deal, while more testing is necessary, if it works well then I see no harm in it. Also, for the record i am 17 years old.
Mar 1, 2006 at 7:24 pm
As an alarm this sounds like a brillent idear a regular alarms all gd but end of the day whos evers breaking in still gonna nick what they can wile its goin off if it actly deters them from the area then its brillent.
But my problem with is the fact that its been targeted at under 20s to me thats just ageist in fact i found that part of it quite insulting. im 18 years old and i know theres lots of ppl about of my age that do break into places and hang about in big groups to intimidate ppl but to assume that only people under 20 do these things is crazy if theres ppl at my age doing things like breakig into shops then what suddenly changes in a few years if they havent grown up by now then im doubting they will in 10 years.
Mar 1, 2006 at 7:27 pm
…and then the teens fought back by attending Rammstein concerts, allowing them to loiter with impunity with their newfound hearing damage, hahahaha
Mar 1, 2006 at 8:33 pm
bad idea, ever thought of babies in the store? they are the MOST sensitive to stuff like this, what if they become deaf or get hearing problems later in their life?
There are other ways to catch criminals, this isn’t a good one in my opinion.
The owners can set it’s strength? Are there limits to it or whatever? What if they set it too high and everybody goes deaf even if they didn’t do anything.
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Mar 1, 2006 at 8:41 pm
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Mar 1, 2006 at 10:52 pm
This just screams human rights issues. Are people under the age of twenty the cause of most of the crime in England or are the brits a bunch of pansies who can’t afford a decent alarm system.
*after a little searching*
As it turns out the peak age for crime in the UK is 18, but while that may be the case the percentage of people that aren’t breaking the law that are under 20 are still at risk of being either annoyed or injured by the damage this machine can do. I would consider this a disturbing of the peace if I’m on public property and suddenly I’m bombarded by this high pitch noise. The fact also that the owners have control on how strong this thing is is bullshit, since adults can’t hear it how can it be regulated safely so that angry shop owners aren’t purposely damaging kids ears?
This was not well thought out by the UK Police dept’s, the abuse that will come from this will be insane. If I was walking past a shop at 2 in the morning and that POS alarm went on I would throw a brick through the window. I hope this thing gets banned because I’m going to invent an alarm that goes off when people in blue walk past my door.
Hey blue is a gang color, this is for my safety.
Mar 1, 2006 at 11:35 pm
Shucks… the deaf teenage gang members have all the luck!
Mar 2, 2006 at 12:26 am
I’d rather take the $1,100 and build a moat around my store with a draw-bridge… If I had a store.
Mar 2, 2006 at 1:47 am
Oh well, say goodbye to chavs.
I think that this could be actually bad because of the rare few people over 20 and the children who can actually hear this. (a good test is to listen to a crt TV (not monitor) with no sound and listen for a very high-pitched whine)
Mar 2, 2006 at 5:25 am
Then again they’ll use it once and all the criminals barging the store the days after that will wear ear protection lol
Mar 2, 2006 at 7:25 pm
Dpatty, what he meant was that he doubts that all people by twenty years of age will not be able to hear it. It was pretty clear what he meant, and I agree. Maybe he is mistaken, maybe he thinks that it blasts all the time, but what about when there are people being blasted, and there are people that are innocent feeling its effects too? So the innocent (which are pretty much always around when there are hoodlums too, hoodlums dont have a force field around them to make people within 500 feet go away) these innocent should be punished too? Anyway, the guy is right that some people are more sensitive, so when they are around when the hoodlums are supposed to be blasted, the more sensitive eared people can be hurt a lot more? Perhaps even suffer damage. Thats pretty a good representation of indecisive tactics. And the fine line at age 20 might not have been drawn accurately, but theres also the chance that people under 18 or 15 wont hear it either. Overall, this device doesnt seem effective at all, and im sure the people who are doing real damage with baseball bats wont be scared of by some cheaply designed machine that makes them ‘uncomfortable’. A set of earphones blasting 50 cent probably will do the job. Another drawback is sick bitches that will uses this for disgusting reasons, just like rapists. Giving another tool to the sick community of child molesters, and people that get off by hurting others is a good idea right? Especially a new weapon that cannot even be seen, great idea…
Mar 3, 2006 at 8:24 pm
1guy, i am glad u understand my points against such a dreaded machine. i dont know how calling this deterrent to a tool for child molesters makes any sense but everything else, yea.
i have a little cousin of 7 or 8 years old who is VERY sensitive to loud noises, and this machine concerns me of his well being. He could be with his mom coming from a store when the deterrent goes off for some hoodlums and it could make my cousin go deaf. not a cool idea.
and i am sure that my cousin isnt the only one sensitive to sound out there.
Mar 6, 2006 at 6:01 pm
Doesn’t the big metal cage around the gizmo in the picture suggest these are already attracting some vandalism?
So for $1100, you put a thing on the outside of your store that attracts vandalism. Talk about getting your money’s worth.
I have had recent tests of my hearing and I can still perceive sounds at the frequencies this device produces. I am in my thirties. I obviously wouldn’t shop at a store I had to “cover my ears” to approach, so congratulations, shopkeeper, you’ve lost my business.
Mar 7, 2006 at 2:18 pm
you guys are so retarded
Mar 7, 2006 at 3:22 pm
Thanks for your succint, unsolicited, off-topic opinion, chris.
Mar 7, 2006 at 4:33 pm
.. Wow, that is very irrational. o_O
I’m very sensitive to loud noises, and If I went to a store and heard one of those going off, I’d probably just quit going there.
Mar 7, 2006 at 5:53 pm
Interesting. Stupid, but ingeneous nonetheless. True the innocent would suffer in any situation when they were present and this device was going off, but not just them. What about nearby business owners? This device has an effective range of up to 500 ft? That’s a pretty wide radius of effectiveness and might not be a deterrent to patrons of just this one business. Also, if this device isn’t going off 24/7 then what’s to stop hoodlums that have been deterred by this device returning when it’s not active and demolishing it? As I see it this device has the potential for a good short term solution to shop keepers problems of vandalism, loitering, and disturbances of other natures around his/her business. But in the long run it will cause more problems than it solves.
Mar 7, 2006 at 6:48 pm
Frankie and Distgruntled -
There is a very VERY big difference between the VOLUME of a sound… ( A.K.A :: Decibels )
… And between the PITCH of a sound. The frequency and wavelength being sent out from these devices will be extremely high. Not extremely loud. Meanwhile, volume can certainly damage the hairs on your chochlea, and even make them fall out… Pitch cannot.
Think of dog whistles. We may not be able to hear the pitch, but the dogs sure don’t seem to mind it. I’m sure if it hurt them in any way, then they would go running further away from the source… Not towards it.
I’ve heard one of these devices before, also.
It’s very similiar to hearing a muted television, just a little louder. I am sure it wards away teenagers with the sound pollution it gives off, and not the ‘pain’ being caused to their ears.
By the way, I am thirteen. I’ve just recently learned this is Physical Science. I still agree with you that this is a stupid machine.
Mar 7, 2006 at 6:54 pm
Compare the 80 decibels given off by this machine, to an airplane travelling around 70 yards above you, which sends out sounds at about 165 decibels.
Mar 8, 2006 at 1:21 pm
I can’t believe that people can’t distinguish between a wind-up & a bona-fide product!
Some amusing replies nonetheless
Mar 8, 2006 at 2:35 pm
I think it is very wrong to put those up. The only place they should be allowed to be put up is on private property. I’m not a chav and I shouldn’t be penalised for being where I am, when will the UK ever just punish the guilty and not the innocent?
Mar 8, 2006 at 8:15 pm
This is a stupid piece of shit. I used to hang around stores as a younger teenager (17 now). And if we saw anything like that…we’d jus tear the fukker off da wall.
Store owners are stupid…this human rights laws prevent shit like this from being allowed…the store owner may aswell jus come out from behind the counter, and start licking caps off at us….now that would have shifted US and all the others HOODLUMS (as people put it)…
another point….if i came over to you, jus when you were standing there, and sprayed an air horn FULL ON in your ear….i would probably get Banged Up for Assault or ABH or some shit….but store owners are allowed to do the same shit to US and fukkin get away with it….all i can say is … BULLSHIT
Also…these things are put up to PROTECT PROPERTY…what if you were jus walking by…and you had your ears blasted, and you werent even gonna do anything to the place….iz a fukkin outrage….now that would give me an incentive to trash the dump…then it WOULD NEED PROTECTING…..
Mar 9, 2006 at 10:31 pm
not cool…im a teenager..and i dont think its awsome. instead they should have one for adults
Mar 21, 2006 at 9:09 am
What about parents with very young children? Infants, toddlers, etc? The damaging effects of this device on their ears could be permanent. And at an infant age they are unable to tell their parents that they are in distress, so a parent my keep them in range of the device for an extended period of time trying to figure out what is wrong with the child inadvertently doing irreversable damage. The company that came up with this device should be put out of business and the charged with malicious intent to do bodily harm!
Mar 21, 2006 at 3:50 pm
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=8533
if it’s used here…it will end up for the general consumer eventually.
Feb 9, 2007 at 9:08 am
What a bunch of bull, that its against human rights and shouldnt put one up for your own protection. Its you people that have fucked everything up and why these yob bastards get away with so much. Human rights defenders are nothing but do-gooding assholes until they experience these same problems and then change their view. Pathetic English hippocracy. All it does is allow gutter trash like ellem do go around damaging property and lives. Ellem people like you are the reason why these things get invented in the first place. Shame its not a permant fix for animals like you. The world would be a far better place if the likes of you just never exsisted.
Apr 20, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Honestly, I just think its hysterical. Where can I buy one to mess with my friends?
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