Mall Ban?

[MamaMootz]

Just wondering what the CS'ers had to say about this new policy being enacted at the Cleveland mall:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21582725/

Will it help to make your job easier when the ban is enacted? Do you think this is a bad idea?

[blas]

And of course SOMEONE just HAD to use the race card....

I don't know about as early as 2:30 pm, as it seems most kids are still in school, but for the most part, I am in favor of such a thing.

I hate seeing huge crowds of 8-10 kids destroying the food court, going from store to store not even buying anything, making a mess everywhere they go and just hanging out and being a disturbance to everyone.

[DesignFox]

Someone posted a similar article a few months ago. I think that mall only restricted teenagers on the weekends...not seven days a week.

Either way, I still think it's a good idea. I used to work in the mall. Unsupervised teenagers were causing lots of problems. They were loud, disrespectful, trashed our store if allowed to remain, and used vulgar language despite the fact that my store was a family oriented store!

I do really feel for the teens that behave themselves. I had the same problem growing up that some of these kids are facing. I was a good kid. My friends were good kids. It sucked being treated like criminals when all we were doing was hanging out and talking (granted, we weren't mallrats, but encountered this problem elsewhere).

But you know what? I understand it as an adult looking back. Too many kids were just too much of a problem. And let's face it, we may have been good overall, but it doesn't mean that we didn't occasionally do annoying, dumb-ass shit. I don't blame those adults for not wanting to deal with us.

What I do think would help solve the problem- more youth activities. Not all kids get involved after school- of if they do, most activities end by 5-5:30. This is good during the week but, on the weekend...then what? Kids need stuff to do. Something more attractive than hanging out at the mall. Maybe even a specific "hang out" spot. Someplace supervised and made for "hanging out."

That's my thought.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

The race card seems to get pulled every time a mall enacts one of these bans.

There's one in place at Mayfair Mall in Milwaukee. There used to be lots of fights involving kids just hanging out and roaming around. Now I can feel pretty safe if I take a trip down there.

The few mess it up for the many sometimes. A mall is a place of business, not a teen hang-out, and if patrons can feel safer because they aren't as likely to end up in the middle of a rumble it's ultimately better for business.

Now if only our legal department would get off its lazy can and do something about the junior high kids who descend upon my store every half day of school...

What I do think would help solve the problem- more youth activities. Not all kids get involved after school- of if they do, most activities end by 5-5:30. This is good during the week but, on the weekend...then what? Kids need stuff to do. Something more attractive than hanging out at the mall. Maybe even a specific "hang out" spot. Someplace supervised and made for "hanging out."

There used to be such a "hang out" place in my city. Nobody ever went there. It was pretty lame.

You can build it but they won't necessarily come.

[DesignFox]

I suppose that's true, IPF. They just need something "cooler" than the mall.

I guess the kids just want to feel like they aren't being watched over by adults. If it's like a babysitting service and there isn't anything fun to do at the "hang out" then I can see why they wouldn't go.

I also see a problem getting people to work at such places... who wants to manage a game room/club/hang out/etc. for teenagers until midnight?

If they had cool games and stuff, though...maybe it would work? But I guess it'd have to be cheap- 'cause roaming around the mall doesn't cost anything...

I don't know.

[blas]

How about these stupid teenagers get a farking JOB?

[Kusanagi]

I think a ban might be a bit extreme, as there are good natured kids as well, but to do nothing isn't the solution either.

I see this as one end of a pendulum, it's going to swing a few times before it gets settled.

[myswtghst]

I have to kind of agree, while the time may be a little harsh, I don't think it's a bad idea. I hate going to the mall and having to avoid roamig packs of obnoxious, unsupervised kids - and I'm only 24!

What I do think would help solve the problem- more youth activities...... Kids need stuff to do.

I edited this way down, but these two sentences sum up what I agree with. I was one of those kids who was involved in nearly everything I could be (theatre, choir, community service, job, and sports) and as a result, I didn't honestly have time to get into trouble. I think making sure kids are aware of all their options helps.

One of the security guys at work keeps telling me about how his 12-yo daughter wants to do EVERYTHING, and I keep telling him, no matter how exhausting it is, it's good, because he'll know where she is and she'll be too busy to get into trouble.

The other thing I wanted to add is that at least in some places, they do have "hangouts" for kids that are pretty cool. When I dated the lead singer of a hardcore band, the band played a few times at a place called The Attic in Kettering, OH. It was run by a former minister-type, no drugs/drinking/smoking allowed, but they had arcade stuff, a "bar" with soda and snacks, lounge-y areas, and a big floor and stage where they had bands play or people dj so the kids could hang out and dance. All in all, even if it was a little supervised, it was mostly just a cool place with a good atmosphere, and it gave the kids somewhere to go where they were welcome.

[Greenday]

I personally think the ban is ridiculous. I'm 19 years old, and I STILL walk around the mall, not buying anything half the time. Faced with no other option, the mall is a great place for social interaction. A ban starting so early is absurd. The food court is going to see a nice drop in revenue, that's for sure.

Unless they are continually having serious issues with teenagers a.k.a. gang wars and such, a ban like this is pretty excessive. So now, instead of hanging out at the mall, which is a pretty safe place, they can hang out...where? At the mall, it's a lot harder to do stuff like drink, do drugs, etc. I mean, back home, there were NO teen clubs anywhere nearby. So the only places to go besides the mall were to other peoples' houses, which were parties where everyone got trashed and did drugs. Yea, that's MUCH better than the mall...

[MystyGlyttyr]

When I was younger, if my friends/classmates got me in trouble with their bad behavior, they knew a ferocious ass-beating was in the cards for their near future. So I kept them more or less intimidated into behaving themselves.

Once this ban has been in effect a while, the mall could try lifting it on a probationary basis, and if any teens act up or cause too many complaints, BAM, banned again. I can almost promise you that then the good teens will be speaking up on the bad ones to try and keep from getting into trouble again.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I personally think the ban is ridiculous. I'm 19 years old, and I STILL walk around the mall, not buying anything half the time. Faced with no other option, the mall is a great place for social interaction.

I really do feel for those young people who are NOT out there causing trouble, becuase they are going to suffer right along with the troublemakers. And I have always felt there were not enough things for young people to do so that they didn't have to loiter in malls. I do agree with Greenday here.

However, the mall is not responible for providing a social hangout for anyone. The people running it want to make money. I know that one reason I avoid malls is due to the crowds of kids everywhere loitering and yelling at each other. This is something that has pushed me to try shopping A LOT at Amazon. I tried it, I like it, I'll probably continue to use it, ban or no. The local malls have permanently lost a ton of money from me...and I'm not the only one, I'm sure. All because they failed to provide me with a nice place to shop.

They cannot fairly single out just the troublemakers. So they make a broad curfew. They have to do something, and that will probably work. Their business will likely increase, not decrease. No, they won't be selling so much China Wok and Philly Sub and what not. But they WILL be selling more high end stuff to older people with money, who are the people currently avoiding shopping at malls because they don't feel safe.

No, it's not fair. But that's just the way it is, unfortunately. Enough young people acted badly enough that it's come to this. Maybe in some screwy way, it IS fair.

[crazylegs]

We have a big problem in my town with teenagers after 20:00hrs on the weekend, as unless your sprty, there is nothing to do, youth services (who run youth clubs) *will not* work friday or saturday nights, so at the moment they sit in parks, get drunk then do silly things. We have used a dispersal order in order to lawfully restrict their gathering (anything up to 200-300 youths in any one area) But with no carrot, the problem will not get solved.

(For those who don't know, this is what I do for a living http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_...upport_Officer )

[MamaMootz]

I feel two ways about it, having read the article.

I remember taking the bus to the mall as a 13 year old with my girlfriends, armed with money to go school shopping for clothes - and was so proud of how independent we were, shopping on our own. We didn't misbehave and we did actually have a shopping agenda (per Ben Affleck's character in Mallrats)

However, I have also seen the packs of kids with nothing to do but hang out and cause trouble, and the mall in the OP had trouble with riots and gangs, I believe.

I don't see how the malls have much choice but to ban the teens, and it's a shame. But I guess the few bad apples have ruined the bushel for everyone.

[Broomjockey]

You know what? The mall is a business, not a social hangout. I feel a bit sorry for the kids that they don't have anywhere better to go, but they have no right nor priviledge to hang out at the mall. Even if all they do is sit for hours on end in the food court buying something every couple of hours, they're still *taking business away from the mall*

Turnover in a food court is probably about 20-30 minutes on average. A gang of 20 kids taking up 5 tables for 5 hours is preventing 20 other batches of people from getting a table. Even assuming the kids buy another batch of food later, that's still not making up for the numbers of people not getting a table. And I know if I can't get a table, I'm not staying.

So, I don't think they'll be losing money, even in the food court.

[protege]

However, I have also seen the packs of kids with nothing to do but hang out and cause trouble, and the mall in the OP had trouble with riots and gangs, I believe.

Quite a bit of that goes on at the mall near me. For years, they've had gang problems. Most times, nothing goes on, but there are fights now and then. It's still nowhere near as bad as the early 1990s. Back then, the gang wars were at their highest intensity. Most of that crap went on in the inner city...but many times, it spilled out into the 'burbs as well. Several times, I saw several fights at the mall, or out in the parking lots. Shortly after that, there were many people calling for stopping the bus service to the mall (they thought it would prevent the thugs from getting to the 'burbs in the first place....but in reality, it would prevent the *locals* from even getting there as well), as well as a massive ban on teenagers there. Even though things have calmed down since then, quite a few people still stay away from the mall.