Can music fight crime? Well, the good people over at the ActionInstitute seem to think so. Let me paint you a picture. You’re in a public library enjoying the latest Harry Potter novel and you see a gang of miscreants scampering about, sending threatening messages to each other on MySpace. You can almost see the drool dripping from their hate-filled maws as they type their latest missive, “I PWNED J00 Bill, LOLZR!” Needless to say, your daydream about fighting alongside Dumbledore is ruined.
If you were with the public library system, you would say that the solution is to cut off access to social networks on your terminals. While likely effective, this is inefficient at best. A better answer — why not pump in some classical music? If there is anything that repulses street gangs who spend their time trolling social networks more than books, it’s Beethoven. According to the ActionInstitute –
“Transit workers are installing speakers this week to pump classical music from Seattle’s KING-FM into the Tacoma Mall Transit Center. The tactic is designed to disperse young criminals who make drug deals at the bus stop or use public transportation to circulate between the mall and other trouble-prone places.â€
It might just work, and if it doesn’t they could try some Metal. I hear that is almost as effective. By the way, Wagner rocks our world.
[via: Acton.org]
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I played the overture to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by Wagner at music camp once upon a time! Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Sibelius take the cake for my favorite composers though.
Vilma
The Toronto Transit people started doing this about ten years ago for several subway stations where large groups of young people were congregating and behaving poorly (sexual assault, beatings and such).
As soon as Vivaldi, Bach and Beethoven hit the PA system, the gangs vanished, one fewer site where criminals in their important formative years could grow together in wisdom, technique and brotherhood (sisterhood was definitely not part of the scene).
Neil
Wow, who would have thought that the real solution to crime was not the gun but the Concerto?
Shark At Large