People swim at Suomenlinna Sveaborg, sea fortress island near Helsinki. Espoo police have installed loudspeakers that play classical music near the Finnish city's beaches. — Photography mathess/Getty Images, via ETX DailyUp
Music has such a profound influence on our mood and behavior that a line from a 1697 William Congreve play has become an oft-repeated saying: "music has charms to soothe a savage breast." And Finnish police are making use of this well-known power with a decision to play classical music on some of the country's beaches to deter the young.
The initiative was launched in Espoo, a city on the outskirts of Helsinki, where there are some 30 beaches. Young people frequently visit these watering holes to hold parties for the end of the school year. These gatherings can turn unruly and are frowned upon by local authorities, because of the garbage that gets left behind.
To put a stop to it, Espoo police have installed loudspeakers that play classical music, according to Finnish website Yle News. From 6pm to 11pm, people visiting one of the Finnish city's beaches can hear pieces such as Johann Strauss's The Blue Danube and Franz Schubert's Ave Maria.
This unusual approach has been proving its worth in Espoo for the past six years, dissuading young revelers from venturing out to the water's edge after dark. "For some reason, classical music doesn't appeal to young people, and young people stay away from places where there is classical music,” Mikko Juvonen, an officer with the police department of Western Uusimaa, the administrative region to which Espoo belongs, told Yle News.
However, it's important not to jump to conclusions. There is no scientific evidence that young people have an aversion to classical music. That said, several studies have shown that classical music does have a positive effect on mood. In 1999, psychologist Lynne Chalmers and her colleagues at the University of North Dakota conducted an experiment in which they played classical music in an elementary school cafeteria. The researchers observed a reduction in aggressive and disorderly behavior on the part of the students.
British railway company Northern noticed a similar phenomenon when, in 2022, it began broadcasting classical music in a few stations on its network. This sound strategy proved so effective in combating anti-social behavior that the company decided to play it at some 30 stations across Britain. — AFP Relaxnews
