Teenagers under 18 years old looking to go to Torrance’s Del Amo Fashion Center will need to bring an adult with them after 3 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays starting March 1, Simon Property Group says.
The company announced the new Youth Supervision Policy on its website Friday, Feb. 23, following large, chaotic brawls at the shopping center in recent months, including one that involved about 1,000 minors, causing the mall to close early and shutting down nearby streets.
“We are committed to providing a pleasant and family-friendly shopping environment for all of our guests,” the statement says.
Those under age 18 attempting to enter the mall at 3 p.m. or later on Fridays and Saturdays will need to be accompanied by an adult 21 years or older, according to the policy. Young-looking adults may be asked to show a driver’s license, military ID, or passport.
One adult will be allowed to walk in with as many as four children during those time periods. “Adults are responsible for the actions of all of the youth they accompany,” the notice reads.
Adults who are found to be under 21 years old and those without acceptable identification won’t be allowed inside.
In late December, Torrance police arrested three girls and two boys, all of whom lived in areas near Torrance, after a gathering of 1,000 youths at the mall led to a brawl, police said. Two others suffered injuries during the melee, which spread to at least 34 nearby businesses.
Police closed streets surrounding the mall for seven hours while sorting out the commotion.
Previously, in August, police were at Del Amo to break up a fight that also broke out among an estimated 1,000 minors. The police response started after officers on foot patrol at the mall noticed a group of unruly teenagers that continued to grow and become increasingly rowdy.
One officer was injured during the disturbance, leading Torrance police to call for assistance from other agencies. The mall was closed four hours early due to the melee.
No reports of looting or vandalism were reported in either of those brawls.
Del Amo Fashion Center is not the first mall in the U.S. with a chaperone rule, according to CoStar News, which last year reported on a “trend of malls stepping up security after increasing episodes of violence and crime.”
Lenox Square mall in Atlanta, also owned by Simon Property Group, implemented the chaperone rule, as have other malls in New Jersey, Minnesota and Kentucky, CoStar reported.
The stiffer restrictions aim to prevent dust-ups for videos that youngsters post on TikTok and other social media, the outlet reported.
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Retail experts gave mixed reactions in the CoStar story, with some arguing they promote safety and others contending they could impact businesses with teenagers deciding to spend their money elsewhere.
Locally, opinions were divided among shoppers, too.
“We need a little bit more safety and if that’s the way they’ve got to do it, amen,” Delight Hernandez, a shopper at Del Amo on Friday, told Fox News on Friday.
Another Del Amo shopper, David Holliday, told the station, “It’s not fair to the young kids that want to come shopping, and just have a good time, hang out a little bit, talk to girls.
“Everyone isn’t here just for trouble,” said Holliday, a parent.
The Moreno Valley Mall in Riverside County in August announced a plan to require minors not accompanied by adults to wear identification after three separate fights broke out on a day that cheap movie tickets lured a larger-than-usual crowd of youngsters.
The minors would have to wear lanyards containing their names and their parents’ contact information if they were in the mall unaccompanied after 5 p.m. on weekdays or anytime on weekends, Chelsey Ritchie, a spokeswoman for mall owner Matt Ilbak, said. Their parents would be called if the youngsters misbehaved, she said.
It was not immediately known on Saturday if that policy remains in effect.
Simon Property Group said employees who are under 18 will be able to walk in without an adult at Del Amo and work their shifts on Friday and Saturday nights, but once those shifts end, the policy will kick in.
Staff writer Teresa Liu contributed to this report.