Map Shows Where Teens Being Banned From Stores as Crime Surges
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
In recent years, various stores and fast-food restaurants have implemented restrictions on teenagers due to rising levels of thefts and other crimes.
Why It Matters
Crime increased during the COVID pandemic, when stories of theft from grocery stores and pharmacies became commonplace and were accompanied by countless videos obtained from surveillance cameras.
And as nearly all violent crime returned to pre-pandemic levels by the first half of 2024, shoplifting was up by 10 percent compared to the first six months of 2019. By the end of 2024, an impact of Retail Theft & Violence study conducted by the National Retail Federation and the Loss Prevention Research Council found that shoplifting had increased 93 percent between 2019 and 2023.
Some states have implemented restrictions at store locations based on age as shoplifting has increased dramatically since pre-COVID.
Some states have implemented restrictions at store locations based on age as shoplifting has increased dramatically since pre-COVID.
Flourish
What To Know
Individual locations of retail and food-related businesses, including some of the biggest companies in the world, have established age restrictions to curb upticks in crime.
Last week, several Richmond, Virginia, businesses reportedly banned some middle school students from entering their stores without a parent, according to ABC affiliate WRIC.
One of the stores reportedly being targeted for theft has been Family Dollar, where an employee told WRIC that groups of five or more teens routinely come in as a crowd and are "very disrespectful," purportedly stealing Hot Wheels and alcohol. but leave without incident due to a shortage of employees.
A local middle school, River City, had to actually send correspondence to district parents informing them of the shoplifting and loitering being conducted by some students.
"We continue to encourage parents to also help reinforce positive behaviors at home and beyond school," school officials wrote.
In February, a McDonald's location in New York City posted signage discouraging anyone under the age of 20 from entering without a parent and identification, as part of a policy aimed to reduce crime.
The location at Nostrand and Flatbush Avenues in Brooklyn has drawn the attention of law enforcement for a while. More than 100 911 calls were made annually from inside and in front of the McDonald's, according to police data obtained by the New York Post. As of February, nearly 30 calls had already been made this year.
Newsweek has reached out to McDonald's via email for comment.
In October 2024, a Target in Boston reportedly implemented a similar policy according to posts that went viral on Reddit. A sign on the store's door read: "All guests under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult at this Target store."
About a year ago, Boston.com reported that a Target location in Dorchester closed all of their self-checkout machines due to rising theft.
An increase in thefts and fights led to the same action at a Target store in the Valley Plaza Mall, in Bakersfield, California, in August 2023, attributed to increased theft and fights. Signage informed consumers that teenagers had to be accompanied by a guardian in order to enter the store after 4 p.m.
Newsweek has reached out to Target via email for comment.
In August 2024, a dozen Giant food stores in the Washington D.C. region began banning bags over 14 inches and restricting entry to anyone under age 18 and without an adult after 6 p.m. Two of the stores were located in Baltimore, according to FOX 5.
Newsweek has reached out to Giant via email for comment.
The ground floor of Macy's Herald Square department store in Manhattan, New York.
The ground floor of Macy's Herald Square department store in Manhattan, New York.Chaperones and curfews are not new, of course.
In 2023, many businesses throughout the U.S. began implementing similar policies to protect customers and limit crime.
Westfield Garden State Plaza, New Jersey's oldest mall, started enforcing a policy in April 2023 in which anyone 18 years and under required an adult chaperone after 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, according to Business Insider. The mall added "waiting zones" for teens needing to be picked up post-curfew.
A Chick-fil-A in Royersford, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, implemented a chaperone policy in April 2023.
A Facebook post at the time stated that teens were too loud and using too much explicit language; "mistreatment of property" by throwing food and trash without discarding it; disrespect of employees; and "unsafe behaviors" like walking through drive-thru lanes.
"As you can imagine, this is not a pleasant experience," the post read. "We want to provide a comfortable and safe environment for our guests and our staff, and also to protect our building. Therefore, we cannot allow this to continue."
On April 22, 2023, Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, began requiring all guests ages 15 years old or younger to be accompanied by a chaperone who was at least 21 years old in order to be admitted to or remain in the park. The policy was in effect daily by 4 p.m. local time.
Newsweek has reached out to Knott's via email for comment.
What People Are Saying
Giant shopper Alice Bland to FOX 5 DC: "I'm for anything that works. If it makes anything better for the community, and it works to teach the kids not to steal. Anything that works for the community and anybody else, I say yes."
Family Dollar employee Latisha Sanchez to WRIC: "The school should have a better hold on what's going on. The kids are supposed to be in the school. They should know that the kids are coming out here, while y'all have a better hold of what's going on over there. It starts with them."
Barbara C. Staib, director of communications at the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, previously told Newsweek: "Anything that makes people feel threatened or insecure in their ability to take care of their families, themselves, their homes, etc. will impact shoplifting. We saw it in the 2008-2009 housing and banking economic crisis."
What Happens Next
It remains unclear how many stores and retailers across the entire country have implemented age-specific restrictions.
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