A fed up California homeowner developed a “distraction security” device to prevent homeless people from camping in his building’s parking lots.
Santa Monica resident Stephen McMahon, 76, invented the motion-activated Blue Chirper device, which emits blue strobe lights and a cricket-like noise to deter homeless people from making themselves comfortable.
Security footage has captured how the device managed to successfully scare people who tried to sleep in garages when the alarm system started to sound.
“I call it diversionary security, meaning we’re diverting them from our 20-block radius to somewhere else,” McMahon said. KTLA.
Santa Monica resident Stephen McMahon (pictured) invented a device that emits blue strobe lights and a cricket-like noise to deter homeless people from camping.
Security footage captured how the device managed to scare people out of his garage.
McMahon said he is frustrated by the number of homeless people seeking shelter in his garage.
He created the device after someone stole more than $20,000 worth of items from a locked storage room in his building’s garage, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press.
“I’ve lived here for over 30 years and I’ve seen this neighborhood, which was a paradise, it was beautiful, deteriorate over the last five or six years,” he said.
“I want to get these people out of here and return Santa Monica to what it was.”
The Los Angeles metropolitan area homeless count showed that in January there were 774 homeless people in Santa Monica and 479 of them were living outdoors.
Blue light prevents people from falling asleep because it tricks the brain into thinking it’s daytime, according to Harvard Health.
The handmade device is called the Blue Chirper.
McMahon’s neighbors have purchased their own Blue Chirpers from him and installed them in their garages (pictured)
Cameras installed in McMahon’s communal garages have captured several instances of people appearing to be preparing to sleep or take drugs. Motion sensors are triggered and they eventually leave.
McMahon said he consulted a lawyer to make sure his device is legal to use. Many of his neighbors, including local merchants, have asked if they can purchase a device of their own.
“Look, as long as it’s a sound you hear in nature and it’s not louder than a real cricket, you’ll be fine,” he said. “No one can complain about it.”
Neighbors said they feel safer in their community now that they have an effective way to keep their cars safe.
“It’s been nothing short of a total reinvention of our lives in that building by doing something as simple as being able to park and be able to walk out to our car without fear,” said neighbor Cory Greenwell. told KCAL.
McMahon said demand has increased near her home (pictured) because neighboring Reed Park is part of the county’s needle distribution program and drug use is on the rise.
Blue light prevents people from falling asleep because it tricks the brain into thinking it’s daytime.
McMahon currently sells the devices for about $500 each, but hopes to reduce the cost as demand increases.
He told the Santa Monica Daily Press That demand has been growing because nearby Reed Park is part of the county’s needle distribution program and drug use is on the rise.
“I can’t get them fast enough,” he said. “My wife and I are going on vacation next week and my landlord desperately wants four of them.”
“Otherwise, she says her tenants will leave, the situation has become so bad. (The owner) was crying. Normally, it would take me a couple of months to build four, but she was practically begging me.”