The Mall In Columbia Will Roll Out Youth Escort Policy, Superintendent Addresses Concerns

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — The superintendent of the Howard County Public School System and the county executive have spoken out about the issues with unsupervised teenagers acting unruly at The Mall in Columbia.

Howard County police officers arrested individuals from a large group of "disorderly teens" last month. Mall workers and shoppers both filed complaints with mall management in November 2022 after witnessing a group of 20 to 30 teens engage in a brawl, fire Orbeez guns that shoot polymer gel beads at people and interfere with shoppers accessing stores by blocking entrances. The incidents typically have been happening on weekends and after school.

The Mall in Columbia requested additional police patrols from the Howard County Police Department, Patch reported previously. A proposed youth escort policy will be rolled out, Fox 5 reported. A parent guidance program would require anyone age 17 and younger to have an adult present who is at least 21 years old. Additional details have not been shared yet about the new program.

HCPSS Superintendent Michael Martirano and Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said in a joint statement that the occurrences are concerning and involved youth age 10 to 18 engaging in "disruptive or dangerous behavior."

"This includes stampedes throughout the mall, physical altercations and destroying mall property and merchandise. The events have primarily occurred on Saturday evenings and these young people have not been accompanied by a responsible adult," they said.

Government leaders plan to engage with community leaders and partners to make sure places like the mall are safe and welcoming, Ball indicated. Mall management will work with the county police department and the sheriff's office to implement plans to help ramp up the safety of all guests at the mall.

"However, we need your help as we address this situation. As we work collaboratively to address these concerns, we ask you to have conversations and engage with the young people under your care. Parents and guardians should communicate with their children about proper behavior in public places, including the mall. By working together, we can ensure that all our young people are supported and do not participate in disruptive and destructive behavior that could lead to serious consequences," Ball and Martirano said.

Brookfield Properties confirmed to Fox 5 that they already implemented a juvenile curfew policy at the Towson Town Center in Maryland, which requires teens 17 years old and younger to be escorted by a parent or supervising adult on Fridays and Saturdays from 4 p.m. to close.

Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks implemented a teen curfew in September 2022 after police investigated 24 homicides that happened in August 2022. The curfew began Sept. 9 after a baby was shot, four people were killed and several others injured Labor Day weekend. The curfew, which targeted youth age 16 years and younger, originally was set for 30 days and barred teens from being without parental supervision in public from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Sunday through Thursday and between 11:59 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Alsobrooks ended up extended the teen curfew through the end of 2022. Crime dropped by 13 percent overall and 20 percent during curfew hours in the first month of the curfew, Prince George's County Police Chief Malik Aziz said during an October news conference. Carjackings, contact shootings and violent crime in general also dropped during that timeframe, The Washington Post reported.

However, some communities did not enforce the curfew, Patch reported previously.

“In Bowie we have the city charter that does not allow us to enforce Prince George’s County ordinances,” Bowie Police Chief John Nesky told WTOP.

Police in Greenbelt also did not enforce the curfew.