For the past few years, police in the Finnish city of Espoo have been employing an intriguing tactic to keep youths from partying on a local beach – blasting classical music from loudspeakers.

There is no scientific evidence that young people have an aversion to classical music, but police in Espoo swear that it works, and the fact that they have been using this tactic for the last six years is a testament to that. Apparently, at the end of the school, year, the beach in Espoo’s Haukilahti neighborhood becomes a popular gathering place for youths eager to party until the late hours of the night. Local authorities had tried multiple other methods to disperse youths, but nothing worked quite as well as classical music masterpieces like Strauss’ The Blue Danube, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Schubert’s Ave Maria. So, starting in early June, police blast classical music from a couple of loudspeakers on the beach to keep youths from gathering there after sunset.

Photo: Matias Malka/Unsplash

“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 of the Western Uusimaa police department told Yle. “It’s better for us to keep the youngsters on dry land, and it’s nice for families to come and swim here in the morning when the beach is clean.”

Before implementing the classical music method six years ago, Haukilahti was a popular gathering place for end of term parties that usually left piles of litter and broken glass in their wake. Now, Espoo police no longer have to worry, because no youths want to be around when the classical music starts playing.

Photo: Manuel Nageli/Unsplash

A number of locals confessed that they found the police initiative a bit strange, but since it’s working so well, no one seems to be complaining.