White Marsh Mall Mob: Council Urges Safety Rules

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — Baltimore County Council officials voted unanimously Monday to pass a resolution urging the White Marsh Mall to take certain security measures, reports say. The decision comes after an August incident at the mall which led to nine arrests.

The resolution isn't binding, but recommends that the mall requires customers under 18 to be accompanied by a 21-plus adult on Fridays and Saturdays after 5 p.m., according to the Baltimore Sun. By adopting that recommendation as an official position, the council hopes to get the mall to enact that policy.

The Aug. 4 incident began when a huge group arrived on a bus, according to Officer Jen Peach, spokeswoman for the Baltimore County Police Department. One officer said there were as many as 60 people in the group.

"They had all come on a bus, and they started giving the security guards there a problem," Peach said. Among the personnel was one Baltimore County police officer in his secondary employment working at White Marsh Mall.

The police even called in a helicopter to help break up the crowd.

See more: 9 Arrested In White Marsh Mall Disturbance: Police

Councilwoman Cathy Bevins pushed for change. "This is unacceptable and I'm acting quickly!" Bevins said in a statement the day after the melee. "I have a meeting scheduled with the White Marsh Precinct in the morning and [Councilman] David Marks will also be attending."

In September 2016, the Towson mall implemented a curfew for those under 18 years of age. After 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, those 17 and younger are required to be accompanied by at someone who is at least 21. One adult can escort up to four youths.

The Towson mall instituted the curfew policy about nine months after an officer was hit by a rock outside the shopping center when a large group of youths gathered outside after the mall closed.
After relaying to mall officials this week that "people were fearful," White Marsh Mall personnel assured her: "They'll beef up their security a little bit more inside the mall, outside the mall," Bevins told Fox 45.

Council Chairman Julian Jones, a Democrat from Woodstock, supported the resolution but sees a deeper problem. “I think this is something of a symptom, and the cause is that we don’t have enough things for our kids to do,” he said, according to the Baltimore Sun.

See more:

• White Marsh Mall Mob: Councilwoman Proposes Changing MTA Schedule
• Lawmakers Want White Marsh Mall To Do Two Things For Safety

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Photo credit: Elizabeth Janney/Patch