Story Created:
Oct 15, 2008 at 6:02 PM CST
Story Updated:
Oct 15, 2008 at 6:02 PM CST
It's called a parental escort policy. Next month, anyone under 17 found at La Palmera Mall after 7 o'clock p.m. will be asked to leave. First at 5 our Erik Rosales joins us live from La Palmera with the details.
The new policy is set to begin Novemeber 1st. Any minor wandering around La Palmera mall after 7 p.m. without a parent or guardian will be asked to leave.
According to mall management, employees won't seek out children and teens who are inside a store or eating at in the food court after hours, but will stop them if they're in the walkways. Mall officials claim the policy is standard at all trademark property developments. Trademark finalized its purchase of La Palmera mall in July. Magement says this has nothing to do with the recent incidents. That involved a man throwing a molitoff cocktail, inside the mall.
General Manager Fred Walters says, "The mall is mean for shopping and dining. So if any of those younger consumers would like to shop and dine at any of our establishments they are more than welcomed to stay. It's just to eliminate the loitering that usually turns into troublemakers."
Shoppe Marybeth Boatman says, "I think the rule is a good idea. Kids are doing".
Children who have been dropped off at the mall will be escorted to a phone where they can call for a ride. They will be kept with mall employees until their transportation arrives. Again this new policy will get started on November 1.
5:16 PM S31 wrote ...
This is foolish. The lack of trust in our children has always appalled me, and this simply displays the extent to which people generalize and compartmentalize them. Granted, at some ages, children are simply too young to be left alone in a mall. But really, 17 year-olds? They're old enough that they're either good kids or not, no matter where they are. These kinds of rules seem to show a leaning towards the belief that children are overall bad people... It's a terrifyingly negative thought.
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