By Ashleigh Nagle
Starting March 31, 2023, the Columbia Mall announced that all guests under 18 must have an adult who is at least 21 to accompany them and this curfew starts at 4 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. During the evening, trained safety officers will check IDs for anyone under 18 at each entrance. If they pass, they will offer them an optional wristband. The Columbia Mall decided to add this policy after the police made three arrests in January while responding to a large group of teenagers at the mall who were being disruptive.
Businesses in the Columbia Mall are a little worried that reckless teenagers are scaring their customers away because they do not feel safe. They believe that customers might not come back to the mall to shop at their stores because they are frightened to stay there because of all the madness that is happening.
One Columbia resident named Recha Bullock talked about how this madness is causing local businesses inside and outside the mall to be affected. She discussed how those stores have already been affected by Covid-19, and she believes more damage will be caused to these stores if nothing is implemented.
“I am all in for not having young hooligans in the mall wreaking havoc and causing folks to not come and spend money at retail outlets, “Bullock said. “Let’s not forget how the pandemic caused too many stores to shut down. Retail stores are still trying to rebound from the pandemic and need all the help they can get to stay afloat financially. We do not need violence or any more bad press at Columbia mall that would interfere with people coming out supporting local and national businesses.”
Another local Columbia Mall shopper, Lynda Michelle, talks about how most of the money that the business gets from in-person customers are adults who are making the most money. She believes that customers should feel comfortable in stores and that businesses should not worry about teenagers scaring their customers away.
“Obviously, we adults are the ones spending the most $ at the mall because we are the ones earning the income to support our household, “Michelle said. “It’s only fair that we feel comfortable & safe being there so if proposing that younger people require an adult chaperone is a promising way to mitigate the crime & nuisance taking place there, then I fully support that.”