Tired of seeing unruly teens running amok and causing chaos inside of your local shopping mall? So are the residents, vendors and security at Moreno Valley Mall in California.
It is one of many malls on a list that includes New Jersey’s oldest mall, Westfield Garden State Plaza, that is implementing new rules to try and cut back on unruly and sometimes illegal behavior from teenagers.
At Westfield Garden State Plaza, anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult after 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, according to KIRO Newsradio. The mall has also set up “waiting zones” for teens needing a ride after curfew, the report says.
The KIRO Newsradio report also notes that a Pittsburgh mall has implemented similar policies, where both teens and their adult chaperones face bans if a violation occurs. In Atlanta, some retailers have seen a drop in sales after enforcing such rules.
The rules are obvious consequences stemming from a spree of looting that started taking place during the 'summer of love' in 2020, and never really stopped. Since then, police all over the country have dealt with higher rates of theft in inner cities while liberal DAs refuse to meaningfully prosecute those breaking the law.
As a result, we have stores like CVS and Target locking up goods like toothpaste, preventing shoppers from accessing even the most basic items, and shopping malls being forced to "lock down".
Despite the ugly reality of the situation, KIRO's Angela Poe Russell laments the changes taking place at malls, writing: "This is happening all over the country and, to be honest, I’m grieving. I’m grieving because our teens need a safe place to go just to hang out and have fun. Remember the COVID-19 pandemic? They were locked in on screens all day. We were wishing for the days they could just go hang out at a mall in person with people."
"When I think about some of my favorite childhood memories, they happened at the mall. It was where I had my first job. It was where I met my first real boyfriend. It was where I met the singers of my favorite band."
The key word that you use there, Angela, is "safe" - which malls simply no longer are. In the 1980s you could go to the mall without fear of looting or assault. Sadly, those days are long gone...
