Where classical music is used in trainstations in Holland to keep the drunk relaxed rather than aggressive, in Kent they are using it to stop graffiti offenders and youths from gathering in subways and outside shops.
The scheme is being spread to all of the pedestrian tunnels in Dartford, after a successful piloting of it in one subway under a park. Most of the sounds have been provided by Austrian composer Gustav Mahler but the intention is to use tracks from other artists including Mozart and Handel. Since it started in March there has been a significant drop in the number of graffiti cases in the Princes Tunnel in Central Park, Dartford. The idea has also been used successfully in town centre subways in Blackburn and Burnley.
Leaves us to why graffiti artists are scared off by it and why pedestrains feel safer being around classical music. As for the pedestrians feeling safer, studies suggest that classical music reduces tension even if it is not your preferred genre of music. Graffiti has of course always been linked to hiphop and rap, but a lot of writers do not consider themselves hiphoppers and listen to a variety of music. There is of course the problem that music makes it harder to hear cops approaching and that most are attracted by the serenity of the sounds of a city by night. It creates and extra boundary and this may already cause a drop in graffiti activism. Even so, you might find this piece of music annoying but some do not mind: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dON9G-vr28w] _Source: __Telegraph_