Local authorities have been accused of taking a ‘Stalinist’ approach to anti-social behaviour in Liverpool city centre.
In attempts to break up mass gatherings that lead to problems in the Whitechapel area, classical music is regularly blasted from speakers attached to lampposts.
But the joint initiative between Liverpool City Council and Merseyside Police has been met with backlash due to a lack of evidence that it is an effective deterrent.
As the dispute over the method rumbles on, seasoned local Liberal Democrat councillor Richard Kemp has called for the scheme to be halted immediately.
In a letter to council leader Liam Robinson and chief constable Rob Carden, Cllr Kemp urged both organisations to ‘desist with this absolute tomfoolery’.
He wrote: “I have been alarmed to hear from visitors to Liverpool that classical music is being used to ‘break up’ gangs in the Whitechapel area.
“Apparently, both Council and Police support this approach.
“I must say I thought it was a belated April Fools joke when I picked up the news.
“I have never heard such a crass and ill thought plan since cartoon character Deputy Dawg ruled the American west.
“Firstly, this is a Stalinist approach to a problem. It is the solution of Big Brother in Orwell’s 1984 and the Chinese Government in Tiananmen Square.
“The fact that we are trying to drown out with noise poor behaviour is facile. This is methodology which is deeply flawed and affects everyone in the area not just those that the music is aimed at.
“Instead, the council and police are practicing a reverse snobbery. Based on the belief that ‘yobs don’t like classical music; that’s just for nice people like us’.
“How will we change attitudes to music, culture, and society if we perpetuate class and educational myths in the way that you are doing?”