THE Co-op is to start playing classical music on loudspeakers outside its stores to deter gangs of youths.
The supermarket chain is introducing the music outside 21 stores in Scotland after trials last summer south of the border found that it drove teenagers away because it made the stores “uncool” places to hang out.
Then two weeks ago managers had dramatic results at a crime-hit store in leafy Newton Mearns, Glasgow. A gang of up to a dozen teenagers, who had intimidated staff and customers by loitering outside and sometimes shoplifting en masse, simply stopped gathering there.
Gerard Hill, of the Scottish Co-op, said: “Youngsters often congregate outside our stores, especially in communities where a convenience store may be the only place open after dark. Playing the music . . . can make life much easier.”
The music is not that of famous composers but is specially composed for the Co-op. Staff can adjust the volume.