Mall crimeHow effective is Crossgates curfew"


GUILDERLAND — How effective has Crossgates Mall’s age policy been in reducing crime"

This July, Crossgates Mall enacted an escort policy, which, according to mall management, would reduce violence and arrests. Under the policy, on Friday and Saturday nights after 4 p.m., those under 18 must be escorted by a parent or guardian who is over 21.

A Guilderland police lieutenant told The Enterprise this week that she thinks the policy has been effective.

However, The Enterprise calculated the number of arrests at Crossgates Mall for 10 weeks before the policy and 10 weeks after and found that, since the police has been enacted, the number of arrests has not decreased. In fact, 87 people were arrested since the policy began, compared to 82 who were arrested in the 10 weeks before.

While the number of shoplifting arrests may be the same, because the mall’s anchor stores are still open to anyone, violence at the mall has been reduced, said Lieutenant Carol Lawlor.

The mall hasn’t had as many fights since the policy or shoppers calling the police to report concerns about large crowds that may get violent, she said.
"We support the policy," Lawlor said. "We think it makes a difference....We haven’t had too many issues with it; it seems to be going smoothly."

Mall management did not return calls from The Enterprise.

The idea for the policy came after two gang-related incidents occurred in March at Crossgates Mall. Then, police arrested at least eight people and, with a Taser gun, stunned two of them.

And, on May 7, a 25-year-old man was stabbed at the mall in what police said was another gang-related brawl.
These incidents, Guilderland Police Chief James Murley said then, and "increased violence on a weekly basis" at the mall, caused the escort policy.

However, after the May incident, no such arrests occurred, neither before the escort policy or after.

Carousel Center in Syracuse — which is owned Pyramid Cos., which also owns Crossgates — enacted an escort policy in 2003, to answer complaints of disruptive teenagers roaming the mall.

Since then, Carousel has had more visitors and increased sales on the weekends, Michael Bovalino, chief executive officer of Pyramid, told The Enterprise earlier.

Lawlor said this week that the police department has heard from many people that Crossgates Mall’s atmosphere is better on Fridays and Saturdays.
"We’re very supportive of the mall’s decision," she said.

With the Crossgates policy, on Fridays and Saturdays after 4 p.m., shoppers under the age of 18 need a parent or guardian, who is over 21, to escort them.

At Crossgates, extra security guards are to check shoppers’ identification cards at the entrances to the mall, stopping anyone under age and without an escort.

The Crossgates policy does not apply to the mall’s cinema area, to teen employees of the mall, or to the mall’s anchor stores with separate entrances.

Teens under 18 can enter those stores, do their shopping, and leave. Or they can go to the theater, see a movie, and leave. What they can’t do is congregate in central areas like the food court without being escorted by their parents.

On Friday at about 7 p.m., The Enterprise saw the identification guards, dressed in green jackets with pink buttons, walking throughout the mall. However, only the main entrance seemed to be monitored by a guard. The rest of the entrances were open and the guards paced the mall, looking for those under 18 who slipped through the unchecked doors.

The mall was very quiet Friday night and The Enterprise didn’t see the guards stopping anyone. Most shoppers looked well over 18.

On Saturday at around 4:30 p.m., the atmosphere was different. Three guards stood in front of a single entrance door and a line of teenagers waited to show their ID’s.
The guards — or "greeters" as mall management calls them — were courteous but firm and, while some of the teens looks disgruntled, they complied, showing their identification.

Under the policy, those who try to enter the mall without valid identification are asked to leave or are escorted to an area in the mall where they can wait for a ride.

More arrests

The Enterprise calculated the number of arrests from May 1 to July 14, before the policy went into effect, and from July 15 to Sept. 30, the same amount of time after the policy was enacted.

Before the policy, 82 people were arrested at the mall; 43 of those arrests were on Friday or Saturday nights. Of the total arrests, 22 were of people under 18 years old.

Since the policy, 87 people have been arrested; 32 of those were on Fridays or Saturdays. Of the 87 people, 27 were under 18 years old.

While no one was arrested for trespassing in the 10 weeks before the escort policy was enacted, 13 people have been arrested since July 15 in connection with the policy.

Eleven of these people were arrested because they refused to show their identification to the guards at the mall’s entrances. When pursued by the guards and later asked to leave, they refused and were then arrested for trespassing.

One arrest was for obstruction and the last was for disorderly conduct. Police said in both cases that the defendants interfered with others being arrested for trespassing.

In addition to trespassing, one of the defendants was also charged with two counts of second-degree assault, a felony; resisting arrest, a misdemeanor; and disorderly conduct, a violation.

Guilderland Police say that, on Oct. 2, they were called by mall security to deal with Cashaunna Tekia McGill, of 260 North Pearl St., Albany, who refused to leave the mall. McGill then punched an officer in the face and bit his arm, police say.

Not including McGill, since the policy has been enacted, six people have been arrested for disorderly conduct and one has been arrested for assault. In the 10 weeks before the policy, four were arrested for disorderly conduct and no one was arrested for assault.

These extra arrests haven’t been a problem for police, Lawlor said. When someone refuses to show their identification, first the guards at the doors of the mall handle it, she said. If there’s still a problem, mall management and security step in, she said.
"For the most part, people are cooperative," Lawlor said. On a few occasions, police have had to intervene, she said.

The mall pays a few Guilderland Police officers to be stationed there, she said. The number of officers varies, she said; it hasn’t decreased since the policy went into effect but it will increase soon, because of added holiday shoppers.