Local authorities have been told they can set and define byelaws against antisocial behaviour, and issue fixed penalty notices of up to £100 to enforce them.
The problem is you have to quantify and then accurately measure “normal volume” and also clearly state exactly what constitutes an “annoying” noise and then if you do it opens up ways to maliciously comply.
If you set the volume limits at x dB then can me and 5 of my mates each play 6 different dubstep songs at the same time below or exactly at the volume threshold? Is it OK for loud ringtones? Will there be a time limit to account for ringtones? If so, can I play whatever I want loudly as long as it adheres to the time limit?
If the law is too vague it will be either impossible to implement or overreaching.
I have personally ran into a few proper cunts of stewards or municipal police officers that just like to harass people and then give them a fine when they inevitably react.
This sort of law is always used to oppress more than it’s used to make everyone’s life better.
I don’t! If you maliciously comply by playing something loudly which is so atonal and arrhythmic that you think it can’t be defined as music the cop isn’t just going to say “damn, outsmarted!” and trudge away sadly.
See my response to the sibling comment, but laws (like this) have been around for hundreds of years and we (mostly) manage to apply them despite inevitable ambiguity.
I’m happy enough to oppress people who use public spaces in inconsiderate ways. Society must enforce its norms, otherwise it’s not a society. The norms might be immoral or unfair or imprecise, but it’s what allows us to all exist together in some kind of sketchy (mostly) nonviolent (just about) cooperative equilibrium.
The problem is you have to quantify and then accurately measure “normal volume” and also clearly state exactly what constitutes an “annoying” noise and then if you do it opens up ways to maliciously comply.
If you set the volume limits at x dB then can me and 5 of my mates each play 6 different dubstep songs at the same time below or exactly at the volume threshold? Is it OK for loud ringtones? Will there be a time limit to account for ringtones? If so, can I play whatever I want loudly as long as it adheres to the time limit?
If the law is too vague it will be either impossible to implement or overreaching.
I have personally ran into a few proper cunts of stewards or municipal police officers that just like to harass people and then give them a fine when they inevitably react. This sort of law is always used to oppress more than it’s used to make everyone’s life better.
I don’t! If you maliciously comply by playing something loudly which is so atonal and arrhythmic that you think it can’t be defined as music the cop isn’t just going to say “damn, outsmarted!” and trudge away sadly.
See my response to the sibling comment, but laws (like this) have been around for hundreds of years and we (mostly) manage to apply them despite inevitable ambiguity.
I’m happy enough to oppress people who use public spaces in inconsiderate ways. Society must enforce its norms, otherwise it’s not a society. The norms might be immoral or unfair or imprecise, but it’s what allows us to all exist together in some kind of sketchy (mostly) nonviolent (just about) cooperative equilibrium.