As “TikTok takeovers,” large gatherings of teenagers and other individuals behaving disruptively, are impacting shopping malls and other public spaces, a few cities are taking preemptive measures.
Due to crowds of teenagers swarming shopping centers and parking lots, and in some instances damaging property, cities like Houston, Fresno, Milwaukee, Chicago, Charlotte and Philadelphia have prompted some officials and mall owners to periodically implement curfews for unaccompanied teenagers at night. For example, the Willowbrook Mall in Houston has put in place a teen curfew for May 2 and 9.
The trend coincides with rocky times for shopping malls, with only 900 of the existing 1,200 ones expected to still be operating by 2028, according to Capital One Shopping Research. Looking ahead, 87 percent of large shopping malls may close over the next 10 years.
In February, a takeover at the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream, N.Y. and Nassau County have led to some malls being temporarily shut down. That same month a takeover at the Bay Plaza Mall in the Bronx resulted in 18 arrests with all but one of them being under the age of 19. To try to prevent such unruly actions, Bronx district attorney Darcel Clark and other officials sent a letter to TikTok, Meta, Snapchat and YouTube to encourage them to prevent the spread of teen takeovers.
A spokesperson for Clark said that a meeting with TikTok representatives had been held and one with Meta staffers was being planned.
Through research, Dennis Savard, an associate professor of criminal justice at Saginaw Valley State University, concluded that when co-offending happens in shopping malls, that is more likely to involve juveniles than adults. Co-offending refers to when two or more offenders participate in a crime. As for the TikTok takeovers trend, he said, “I don’t know that it’s getting worse per se. Certainly, there’s anecdotal evidence where upward of 200 juveniles will gather at a mall. What we should be worried about in terms of public security is offending any smaller groups of individuals.”
That said, he noted how social media can exacerbate TikTok takeovers quickly. All in all, shopping malls serve as stable environments that give people, including teenagers, access for extended hours. And juveniles might gravitate to “nested environments” like the food court, arcade or movie theaters, he said. Malls can also serve as places to not just socialize and gather in, but also to potentially recruit accomplices, Savard said. The fact that juveniles are more likely to be influenced by peer dynamics can make the mall more attractive “because the group becomes part of the opportunity structure,” the professor said.
Meanwhile, in Fresno, Calif., police department officials have warned the community about the possibility of one this weekend within the city limits including at the Fresno Fashion Fair. Digital flyers for this unsanctioned event have been circulating on social media, according to the Fresno Police Department. “Similar events like the one currently being advertised have occurred in other areas throughout the nation, and they typically involve large scale, unruly and illegal activities,” the FPD advised on social media.
The Fresno Police Department planned to have a large contingency of officers working this weekend who will be assigned to areas “where this incident could occur with the flexibility of responding to different parts of the city if needed,” officials said.
In Milwaukee, teen takeovers have been a recurring problem with one at the Bayshore Mall resulting in 12 arrests in March. There were also a few on April 25. Video footage shows drivers doing doughnuts with their vehicles, as fireworks were set off with onlookers standing by.
