Barrying Crime

Officials in one Sydney district have decided to pipe [Barry Manilow] music over loudspeakers in an attempt to rid streets and car parks of hooligans whose anti-social cars and loud music annoy residents and drive customers from businesses.

Following a successful experiment where Bing Crosby music was used to drive teenage loiterers out of an Australian shopping center several years ago, Rockdale councilors believe Manilow is so uncool it might just work.

Link.

Great idea. Barry writes the songs that the make the crime world cry. Maybe we should try that in inner-city neighborhoods. Of course, I'm sure the ACLU would find some sort of civil rights violation.

This story raises the flipside possibility: If certain music drives away riff-raff, does other music attract respectable people? Will Barry Manilow attract fifty-somethings and their money? Maybe Judy Garland would draw the "stylish" crowd and Hall and Oates would bring in nerds from the eighties. Stores already do this to an extent (hence, my inability to stay inside most mall clothes stores for more than ninety seconds), but this concept could apply to entire shopping districts.