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Across the state, malls look at teen policies |
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Friday, 04 May 2007 |
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 TEEN SPENDING (IN BILLIONS)
1997: $122
1998: $141
1999: $153
2000: $155
2001: $172
2002: $170
2003: $175
2004: $169
2005: $158
2005: $179
Source: TRU
By Kathleen Dayton
If you are young or young-looking, be prepared to show your identification at more than 40 malls around the country, including two in South Carolina.
Parental escort policies have become more prevalent in the nation’s malls in the past couple of years, the International Council of Shopping Centers reported. The New York-based shopping center trade organization lists 43 out of 1,100 U.S. shopping malls as carriers of the policy, which may vary from mall to mall.
Some malls require escorts for youths 16 and younger and others restrict teenagers 18 and younger. Most malls with escort policies require teens be escorted by a parent or guardian who is 21 or older. Some malls have the restrictions in place every night while others only impose the policy on Fridays and Saturdays.
At malls that have the policy, teens are required to show identification with proof of age to security guards posted at mall entrances.
Charles Gwinn, general manager of Columbia Place Mall on Two Notch Road, said the mall put its parental escort policy in place in April 2004 after noting an increase in loitering and a number of behavioral incidents involving teens.
“It was gone into with a great deal of thought, and with our particular situation, it was the best course of action,” Gwinn said. “It’s been incredibly successful.”
Columbia Place management met with local law enforcement and community leaders and also interviewed young people prior to putting the policy into effect.
“Young people are very important to our industry and we value them as customers, not only in the present but in the future,” Gwinn said. “No young person is prohibited from being on the property. The policy just sets the terms and conditions by which you can be on the property.”
The policy is in effect after 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays at Columbia Place and requires anyone under the age of 18 to be escorted by a parent or guardian who is 21 or older.
Despite Columbia’s example, so far the majority of South Carolina’s shopping malls haven’t instilled the restrictions.
“It’s becoming more and more popular in markets that feel they need it,” said Leigh Burnett, marketing director at Citadel Mall in Charleston. “They’re not saying they don’t want these kids; they’re just saying they want them to come in with their parents. Sometimes the kids are there and it’s the sheer numbers that put people off. Sometimes people get nervous. What they’re trying to do is create a more family-friendly environment.”
Not every mall in a company’s portfolio may be affected by the policy, said ICSC spokeswoman Patrice Duker. CBL & Associates Properties, which owns both Citadel Mall and North Charleston’s Northwoods Mall, has a teen escort policy at its Columbia Place Mall even though it does not have the policy at its Charleston malls.
“We certainly have not even considered that policy here. We feel we do not need that,” Burnett said.
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