Mall curfew
Policy against minors alone in malls / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In the United States, many shopping malls have implemented mall curfews, chaperone policies, or parental escort policies: measures to prevent minors from entering or staying on mall property during curfew times unless they are accompanied by a guardian. Mall curfews have been implemented in shopping malls since the 1980s, and those who implement similar policies often justify them by citing "unruly behavior" reported from unsupervised teenagers.[1] One of the first malls to implement a mall curfew was the Mall of America in 1996, which received opposition from the American Civil Liberties Union which asserted the policy infringed on the rights of young people.[2]
Mall curfews are reportedly effective at reducing the number of incidents and reports made to law enforcement at malls related to minors,[3][4] but are frequently cited as disproportionately affecting people of color.[2]
Locations with curfew policies will often make exceptions for minors who are working during curfew,[5] and vary in their specific methods of implementation based on affected dates and curfew times.