A California City Is Into Tweeting—Chirping, Actually—in a Big Way

[Donna]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203721704577157512700171698.html Story and broadcast of the birdsong!

LANCASTER, Calif.—Crime is down in this city on the desert fringe of Los Angeles County, and Mayor R. Rex Parris is sure he knows one reason: It's the chirping.

Those chirps aren't from here. The mayor bought them in recordings from England, and for the past 10 months he has had his city play them over 70 speakers along a half mile of Lancaster Boulevard, blended with mellow synthesizer tones, five hours a day.

[Shaky]

Those chirps aren't from here. The mayor bought them in recordings from England, and for the past 10 months he has had his city play them over 70 speakers along a half mile of Lancaster Boulevard, blended with mellow synthesizer tones, five hours a day.

So there's only 19 hours of crime each day?

[Donna]

Those chirps aren't from here. The mayor bought them in recordings from England, and for the past 10 months he has had his city play them over 70 speakers along a half mile of Lancaster Boulevard, blended with mellow synthesizer tones, five hours a day.

So there's only 19 hours of crime each day?

  I guess!

[BIGFRANK]

It probably helps that over 2/3 of the bird calls sound like police whistles or sirens!