Shopping malls used to depend on the disposable income of teenagers, the vast majority of which were law-abiding. A handful of thugs misbehaved and instead of just banning thugs (cuz that's racist) malls had to implement curfews and chaperone policies, effectively driving away the very customers that kept them in business.
Back in the olden days, a shopping mall was a safe place for teenagers to go meet their friends and hang out. A suburban mall would have several anchor stores, other smaller stores, restaurants, maybe a movie theater or a skating rink. It would be a good place for a family to visit, disperse, and meet up again later.
https://www.npr.org/2014/08/19/338843392/teens-and-mall-culture-the-fading-love-affair
Sun Valley Mall in Concord (not far from Walnut Creek) was such a place. No high-end stores, anchor tenants are now Sears and Macys. Thugs are less likely to visit there.