City of York council bans device to break up youths

A council is to ban mosquito devices from it premises amid concerns they may breach human rights.

The City of York council said it did not consider the devices, which emit a high-pitched noise only audible to younger people, as a proportionate means of tackling anti-social behaviour.

The council said it aimed to work with other partners and traders in the city and remove them from buildings.

Councillor Dafydd Williams, City of York Council’s Cabinet Member for Crime and Stronger Communities said: “By banning these devices from council property, a strong message is being sent that we do not consider the use of the mosquito as a proportionate means of tackling youth related anti-social behaviour.

“The council has a strong track record of working with the police and community to tackle anti-social behaviour in a way that impacts only on those who are offending. In addition to adopting this ban we are also looking to discourage private property owners from deploying the devices and encouraging young people to alert the authority to locations where mosquito devices are in use in the city."

Having been initially promoted by the Home Office, legal challenges in 2008 began to see the devices being removed from buildings.

Human rights charity Liberty’s “Buzz Off” campaign and the Children’s Commissioner for England both criticised mosquito devices, as does a report for the Council of Europe which called for a ban in 2010, suggesting use of the mosquito may breach human rights law.