A new 3:00 PM curfew for juveniles goes into effect today at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The controversial new policy comes in response to juvenile crime at the popular retail center, primarily in the forms of shoplifting, assault, and robbery. All patrons under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian after 3:00 PM, seven days a week. That adult will be held responsible for any crimes committed by the minors under their supervision at the mall.
The policy essentially ends the American pastime of teens hanging out at malls after school, and at night, at Westfield's Montgomery and Wheaton Plaza malls. This past Saturday night, teens crowded into Montgomery Mall's Dining Terrace food court, the last to enjoy a rite of passage of a Saturday night at the mall. In a sign of what brought us to this point, however, Montgomery County police officers were seen rushing to respond to a crime in progress at Champs Sports.
Get rid of the food court and they won't need a curfew. Most of the shops there fail within 24mos anyway....
ReplyDeleteClown comment.
DeleteThis is good,but should have been implemented long ago.
ReplyDeleteI agree. The food courts are populated mostly by teenage thugs with very little money to spend. Hence, the noted failure rate of many shops. It was the introduction of these food courts that began the decline of shopping malls across America.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Wendy's is the same way I've noticed, lots of people just hanging out at tables, not purchasing anything, some of them look homeless, some look like ganstas,it's ridiculous.
DeleteThere is no Wendy's in MM.
DeleteI wasn't talking about Montgomery Mall,I was pointing out that the same thing is happening in retail and shopping centers and restaurants throughout the county.
DeleteWhy don't they replace the food court with vending machines?
ReplyDelete