Police in Espoo have been employing an unconventional method to keep young people off a popular beach during the end of school term celebrations.
For the past few years, officers have played classical music through two large loudspeakers at the beach in Haukilahti between 6:30pm and 11:30pm.
This year the playlist included Strauss' The Blue Danube, Vivaldi's Four Seasons and Schubert's Ave Maria.
Mikko Juvonen of the Western Uusimaa police department told Yle that he method is used in other parts of the world too, and it does seem to have the desired effect.
"For some reason, classical music doesn't appeal to young people, and young people stay away from places where there is classical music," Juvonen said.
He added that the department trialed the method six years ago and it worked so well that they have rolled out the classical music every year since. The main aim is to keep young people out of the water.
"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," he said, noting that prior to the initiative being tested the beach was a popular place for end of term parties, often with a trail of litter and broken glass left in their wake.
There was however a mixed reaction among locals to the use of classical music, and the reasons behind it.
"I find it a bit strange," Espoo resident Iris Åkesson told Yle.
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