Los Angeles has adopted a new weapon to drive homeless people out of a subway station and reduce crime – deafening classical music piped in through the public-address system.

Loud music by the likes of Beethoven, Mozart and Vivaldi has been blaring inside the Westlake/MacArthur Park Metro station, along with the blinding effects of floodlights, the LA Times reported.

The push is part of a pilot program launched in January using a royalty-free playlist to drive out the homeless and cut down on crime – but some critics have described the sonorous strategy as tone-deaf torture that fails to address the underlying problems.

The tactic of using loud music with ulterior motives is nothing new.

In 1989, the US used “music torture” against Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega while he was holed up in the Vatican’s embassy in Panama City after President George H.W. Bush invaded the country.

The US military used heavy metal band Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” to cacophonous levels against Iraqi detainees in Guantanamo Bay.

LA Metro spokesperson Dave Sotero told the paper that “the music is not loud” at MacArthur Park, saying in an email that the classical compositions were being played at 72 decibels.

He noted that the music is quieter than walking outside on the sidewalk, where the levels exceed 80 dB.

A handheld meter used by the LA Times registered levels that typically far exceeded 73 db at the station – averaging 83 dB and peaking at 90 dB in some spots — while it hovered at an average of 72 db outside amid heavy traffic.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, decibel levels between 80 and 85 are on par with gas-powered lawnmowers and leaf blowers. Heating damage is possible after two hours of exposure, it says.

“The idea is to create an atmosphere that is comfortable for spending short amounts of time transiting through our station, but not conducive to hours-long loitering,” Metro told the LA Daily News recently.

The station — which LA Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins has called a “hot spot” of crime —  has seen large numbers of drug overdoses and calls to police as well as a stabbing death, according to the agency.

It reported a 99% increase in year-over-year systemwide complaints from straphangers about people who possess or use illegal drugs, according to the Daily News.

Musicologist Lily Hirsch, author of “Music in American Crime Prevention and Punishment,” told the LA Times: “You’re trying to attract and make certain people feel comfortable based on the associations with classical music.

“And you see that in fancy cheese shops that play classical music because they hope people will feel like they’re a part of some elite upscale world and then they’ll spend more money,” she added.

But Hirsch noted that classical music can also feel dystopian and creepy when manipulated in dark, aggressive ways by driving some people away and making others feel welcome.

“It’s like a bird marking its territory where you hear the signal and you go, ‘OK, this is not for me. This is for the older money crowd,’” she told the LA Times.

“And that technique seems to work. There are examples of teenagers leaving an area that’s playing classical music, not because they don’t like the music but because of the associations,” Hirsch added.

Classical music also has been used by 7-Eleven to deter loitering outside its LA stores since 2019, according to the outlet.

The musicologist said “you’re creating hierarchies of sound” by making it clear that certain people are welcome and others are not.

“And you’re not solving the problem — you’re just pushing the problem to another spot,” Hirsch said.

On a recent day, several homeless people were seen at the station while classical music blared — including “Immaterial,” by contemporary composer Adrián Berenguer, who did not respond to requests for comment by the paper.  

When two cops approached two homeless people and tried talking to them, one of them cupped her hand to her ear. An officer leaned closer and shouted at her to leave.

Last month, one commuter voice his displeasure with the music.

“We want it off. It is driving us crazy,” Cody Johnson, 31, told the LA Daily News about what he said was monotonous, annoying music.

“Our blood pressure is going up. People are getting more irritable with this music. I don’t think that it is working,” he added.

Hamid Kahn, an organizer with the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, also assailed the tactic.

“The city should address homelessness and people with mental health problems. You can’t close your eyes and expect people to go away. So-called hobos riding trains is an old American phenomenon,” Kahn told the paper.

“It doesn’t solve the problem in the long run. You are just pushing the problem somewhere else,” Kahn added.

But not everyone found the music disconcerting.

“I enjoy classical music. It wouldn’t keep me out. It will help keep me down here longer,” Isis Soto, a homeless woman, told the LA Times recently.