A battle is being waged at the Westlake/MacArthur Park Metro station near downtown Los Angeles. The weapon of choice? Loud classical music.

The classical music — along with floodlights at either end of the station platform — are part of a pilot program that L.A. Metro operations and security, in cooperation with law enforcement, began implementing at the station in January. In an email to The Times, Metro said the music is a royalty-free playlist it compiled of piano sonatas, symphony orchestra pieces and concertos, including some by Vivaldi, Beethoven and Mozart.

L.A. Metro’s goal with the music and lights is to reduce crime and drive away unhoused people. But the use of music is divisive, with online commentators calling it an inhumane torture tactic. Critics also argue that it does nothing to address the root causes of the problems plaguing the station.

[The root causes of the problem are a failure to institutionalize the mentally ill homeless, a failure to enforce vagrancy laws, and economic policies that increase stratification, especially in housing, as middle-class residents flee. Critics are correct to point out that this effort won’t address the real issues, but loud Mozart isn’t “inhuman.” If you’re wondering about the headline reference, well … see below. — Ed]