Posted on 08/23/2008 4:54:06 AM PDT by stan_sipple
Ask virtually any store manager at the Saint Louis Galleria about shoplifting, and you'll invariably get two responses: One, it's out of control; and two, it's gotten exceedingly worse since August 2006, when MetroLink opened a stop just 500 yards from the high-end shopping center. In the first six months of this year, Richmond Heights police made 345 arrests at the mall. That's nearly double the number of arrests made in all of 2005, before MetroLink opened its Shrewsbury line. This year police are on pace to take 276 juveniles into custody for shoplifting and other offenses — a sevenfold increase over the 39 kids arrested at the Galleria in 2005. "I know it's not politically correct, but how else do you explain it?" comments a frustrated Galleria store manager who, like many Galleria shopkeepers interviewed by Riverfront Times, says her employer prohibits her from officially speaking for the company. Four months later in March, another fight in the mall — this one involving up to 100 teens — led to three more arrests and the Galleria imposing new sanctions on teenagers. The so-called "Parental Guidance Required" policy, put in place in April 2007, prohibits anyone under age seventeen from entering the mall after 3 p.m. on weekends without an adult chaperone. In recent weeks dozens of those same teens have been implicated in violent attacks that have hospitalized people working and living near the light rail stations in the Loop and the nearby DeBaliviere neighborhood. On July 26 a group of at least twenty teens assailed a family as they left the platform at the Forest Park-DeBaliviere station. That same night another group, according to police, attacked a person at the Delmar station.
(Excerpt) Read more at riverfronttimes.com ...
Similar thing happened to Century Three Mall in the South Hills of Pittsburgh, PA. It’s a city bus transfer station. Seemed like every day and night was Thugs R Us. Over 1/3 of the stores are empty and the rest can’t be far behind.
I’ll bet Anacostians in DC are just waiting for the Dulles Light Rail extention through Tyson’s Corner, home of the Gallaria and other high-end malls, to open for the same reason.
The country can’t solve this problem without working of the busted families and rotten education system that cause it.
“Worse yet, when a cop catches juvenile criminals riding free, he is powerless to do anything about it. This is a perfect example of failed Liberalism creating and enforcing a policy of No Consequences For Anti-Social Behavior.”
Wasn’t that a nice additional touch to the story, the thieves are even stealing their Metro ride to and from the Mall!
Typo - should read “working on”.
You’re either in favor of civilized society or you’re not. We don’t have to tolerate bad behavior in the interest of “fairness”.
Since none of them have any money to pay fines, fining them would do no good.
I suggest short juvenile detention terms say 10 days for the first offense, 20 for the second, and so on. Enforce this vigorously and the problems will be alleviated.
You must be speaking of the St. Louis Mall downtown. It has closed down now. The Galleria is a beautiful mall in the Brentwood/Clayton area. Unfortunately, where Metrolink goes, trouble follows. When the inner city thugs gained easy access to this place, it began having problems immediately. It really is a shame.
Funding for roads in VA is a hot topic.
For example, administrations of both parties haven't done jack to maintain the roads and bridges.
These stories are one of the transportation issues effecting this area.
Jordan Bridge closure would strain ailing Gilmerton span
Close the Jordan Bridge, says Chesapeake city manager
Fwiw, 25 years ago, I would use the Jordan Bridge every day in my commute. The bridge was rickety then, I can only imagine what it's like now.
Things have certainly changed since the last time I was there in the mid-80’s.
My advice: White people should not be on the the street after about 1 hour prior to sunset. (People that live there will tell you the same.)
I would strongly recommend that you consider concealed carry (legal or not).
It's a shame, it used to be a neat place.
“Wasn’t that a nice additional touch to the story, the thieves are even stealing their Metro ride to and from the Mall!”
Spot on!
That article was loaded with telling quotes from ‘Big Sh*tty Syndrome’ sufferers. There must be something in the urban water supply which causes otherwise solid business owners to utter Socialist talking points with a straight face.
Here’s an example:
“Edwards says he doesn’t know what the connection may be between the teenagers and the attacks in and around the MetroLink stations, but he believes public transportation is crucial to the growth and vitality of the city. He also notes that the Galleria and the Delmar Loop are two of just a handful of places in St. Louis where blacks and whites intersect.
“People have made the Loop what it is by embracing diversity,” he says.
His closing line about “embracing diversity” says it all.
Those who accept law and public policy which tolerates, or even creates, criminal behavior and imposes no punishments for said crimes, deserve to suffer any and all crimes heaped upon them by the criminals they “embraced”.
think about it, the Riverfront Times is a ST Louis wannabe Village Voice!
That's a common comment when discussing articles such as these, and in my opinion, if true, we are truely screwed as a country.
Why? Well, how much more can a bankrupt nation spend on social welfare and on gov't schools? How much of that increased spending can go towards current problem people when tens of millions of the same type of problem people flood into this country from the third world?
Our population may be increasing at a near-exponential rate, but the number of productive workers, who pay all the bills, sure isn't. And speaking as one of the productive tax-paying citizens, I'm already paying far too much in taxes.
Try telling that to twelve-year-old Dante and his friends Recee, sixteen, and Unique, nine. On a recent Friday evening the three friends from North St. Louis County are walking through the mall when they're stopped by Galleria security and escorted to the door.
As he leaves the mall property, Dante takes a moment to stomp the life from a begonia plant spouting from the Galleria's manicured flower beds. He hurls a traffic cone into the street and tosses a sandbag from a construction site onto the sidewalk. "I'm angry," concedes Dante. "How are they going to kick me out of the mall? It's racist."
Maybe, Dante, you'd like to ponder a moment on why you and your friends are getting kicked out of the mall?
BTW, the comments section on this article is pretty enlightening as well.
....Unique....
pronounced uu nee kay
Are you sure? I'm pretty certain it's uh-NEE-kwa.
LOL ! Hard to tell these days!
If the comments section is representative of anything, then even the white liberals who read this paper are growing tired of rampant black thug behavior and the many excuses given for it.
“There must be something in the urban water supply which causes otherwise solid business owners to utter Socialist talking points with a straight face.”
The censorship effect of PCness and the leftist media is pretty strong when it comes to honestly assessing situations such as this, and the impact of Section 8 Housing which has been discussed here a few times.
People need to start getting over such self-destructive self-censorship and start calling things what they are.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.