Los Angeles, Ca
Santa Monica man creates 'diversion security' device to deter homeless camping
Frustrated by the unhoused population in his neighborhood, a Santa Monica man has developed a chirping deterrent that he believes bothers transients enough that they will find another place to camp out.
Stephen McMahon, who has lived in Santa Monica for decades, calls his motion-sensing device the Blue Chirper because of the blue strobe light and cricket-like noise it emits.
“I call it diversion security, that is we’re diverting them away from our 20-block radius somewhere else,” McMahon told KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo.
The Santa Monica resident said he came up with the idea after seeing an influx of homeless people using alleyway-facing carports to sleep in overnight.
“I’ve lived here for over 30 years, and I’ve seen this neighborhood, which was just paradise, it was beautiful, deteriorate over the last five to six years,” he said. “I want to push these people out of here and bring Santa Monica back to the way it was.”
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Stephen McMahon seen working on his non-aggressive homeless deterrent device in Santa Monica on Sept. 24, 2024. (KTLA) -
A handmade wooden box holds the electronics for the Blue Chirper, which is meant to deter homeless camping. (KTLA) -
A blue strobe light that’s motion activated, along with cricket-like chirping noise to deter homeless from sleeping in the area. (KTLA) -
A Blue Chirper, meant to deter homeless camping, seen beneath a cabinet in a carport. (KTLA) -
A homeless person seen leaving a carport after the Blue Chirper is activated. (Stephen McMahon)
Building the Blue Chirper, though, wasn’t an easy undertaking, with McMahon saying he had one failure after another until, finally, he had an aha moment.
“I changed the approach that I was using, and it worked,” he explained.
The device’s electronics are held inside a wooden box that McMahon makes by hand. The device has worked so well with neighbors that he is now branching out, selling the Blue Chirper to local businesses.
“They barely even sit down and they leave,” McMahon said of transients who come across the noise and light the device creates.
His personal surveillance cameras have caught quite a few people leaving the carport immediately once the device starts blinking and chirping.
So far, he’s made about a dozen of the Blue Chirpers and says he has about a dozen more on backorder. He believes the demand for his device will go up while the homelessness crisis continues.
“Look, as long as it’s a sound you hear in nature and it’s not louder than an actual cricket, you’re going to be fine,” he said. “Nobody can complain about it.”
About 20 people were detained Saturday during a large police response in Los Angeles’ Koreatown after authorities received reports of an armed man threatening people, officials said. Officers responded to the 3400 block of West 8th Street near Kingsley Drive on reports of an assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Los Angeles Police […]
A former Riverside County man was found guilty of sex trafficking a female victim and forcing her to engage in commercial sex acts along L.A.’s notorious Figueroa Corridor.
Elias Abdul Shabazz, 34, formerly of Perris, was found guilty by a jury following a five-day trial, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Prosecutors said Shabazz had led the victim to believe they were in a romantic relationship before he turned physically and sexually violent. He began demanding that the victim engage in commercial sex acts from May to October of 2021, court documents said.
He carried a handgun with him and, on occasion, was accused of using it to pistol-whip the victim. He also fired the gun at her feet while threatening to kill her, prosecutors said.
At trial, the victim said Shabazz demanded that she meet a daily quota of commercial sex proceeds and that she was terrified of the consequences of not meeting that quota.
She testified that Shabazz compelled her to work in the notorious Figueroa Corridor in South L.A., a dangerous area known for human trafficking and prostitution.
Shabazz had confiscated her identification card, Social Security card and birth certificate. He constantly monitored her cell phone to stop her from communicating with any friends or family.
“He also introduced her to addictive narcotics and controlled every aspect of her life, including when she ate, slept and showered,” prosecutors said.
In May 2025, Shabazz was arrested and has remained in federal custody. His last known address at the time was in Washington, D.C.
On June 26, 2026, Shabazz was found guilty of one count of coercing or enticing interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 6, where he faces 15 years to life in prison.
“Sex trafficking matters rank among the most tragic cases our office prosecutes,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. “This defendant will now face many years in a federal prison cell for his sick, disgusting, and disturbing behavior.”
“Elias Shabazz preyed on a vulnerable victim using physical and sexual violence and cruel psychological coercion to compel commercial sex acts for his own profit,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “There is no place for this type of conduct in civilized society. We deeply respect the victim’s courage to face her trafficker in court. The Criminal Division will continue to bring these cases and try them.”
Anyone with information about human trafficking can report tips to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888
The star-studded feel-good giveback event of the summer has returned. KTLA 5 is teaming up once again with Project Angel Food for the annual “Lead with Love: Going the Distance” telethon to raise critical funds for medically tailored meals delivered to people living with serious illnesses throughout Los Angeles County. The seventh annual telethon airs […]
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