Security Challenges of Formulating, Implementing, and Enforcing Parental/Youth Escort Policies in Shopping Malls

Assessing youth-inclusive planning in shopping mall redevelopment

“…The first focus of Mall managers with respect to youth is to ensure other customers feel comfortable around them. In a review of youth curfews and requirements for adult accompaniment, Gotham (2020) argues that malls are understood to generate youth criminality due to the unstructured nature of interactions and activities with minimal parental supervision. For management seeking to exert control over their property "access control focuses on reducing opportunities for crime and deviance by denying access to potential targets and creating a heightened perception of risk in potential offenders" (Gotham, 2020, p. 8).…”

“…Importantly, O'Daugherty finds that the development of curfew protocol and the enforcement response was a collaborative effort between management's public relations, neighbourhood adults, and local politicians who sought to promote the image of a safe community. Management's imperative to take exclusionary action against youth for the benefit of others appears to be bolstered by Gotham (2020) who argues security deployed at the malls are there to establish territoriality and a sense of ownership for "legitimate users" (p.12-13).…”

Assessing youth-inclusive planning in shopping mall redevelopment

“…The first focus of Mall managers with respect to youth is to ensure other customers feel comfortable around them. In a review of youth curfews and requirements for adult accompaniment, Gotham (2020) argues that malls are understood to generate youth criminality due to the unstructured nature of interactions and activities with minimal parental supervision. For management seeking to exert control over their property "access control focuses on reducing opportunities for crime and deviance by denying access to potential targets and creating a heightened perception of risk in potential offenders" (Gotham, 2020, p. 8).…”

“…Importantly, O'Daugherty finds that the development of curfew protocol and the enforcement response was a collaborative effort between management's public relations, neighbourhood adults, and local politicians who sought to promote the image of a safe community. Management's imperative to take exclusionary action against youth for the benefit of others appears to be bolstered by Gotham (2020) who argues security deployed at the malls are there to establish territoriality and a sense of ownership for "legitimate users" (p.12-13).…”