Cities have put spikes on ledges, installed bars on park benches and enacted tent prohibitions to keep homeless people from sleeping in public.
West Palm Beach, Florida, is trying something else: blasting popular children songs like “Baby Shark” and “Raining Tacos” all night long to discourage people from spending the night in a park.
City spokeswoman Kathleen Walter said in a statement that the city plays music overnight at the Waterfront Lake Pavilion to discourage “congregating at the building” and to “encourage people to seek safer, more appropriate shelter.”
“The music volume complies with City code, and is a temporary measure, as we are exploring the possibility of having set hours for the Great Lawn and Pavilion,” Walter said.
In 2001, West Palm Beach Police blasted classical pieces from Mozart, Bach and Beethoven from an abandoned building in an attempt to reduce crime and loiterers, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
The new plan “shows a lack of concern for our community members who are struggling through a very tough time,” said Megan Hustings, interim director of the National Coalition for the Homeless.
“Responding with this kind of discrimination and disgust instead of compassion is … really immoral. It’s disturbing,” Hustings added. “We’re all humans, and we need to sleep.”
Cities and businesses nationwide have tried playing classical music to deter crime, including New York’s Port Authority Bus Terminal and a San Francisco Burger King.