KETTERING — A review of Kettering Police Department’s police reports from incidents at Town & Country Shopping Center since July found that there does not appear to be a recent uptick in juvenile activity, Kettering police said.
News Center 7 requested public records from the department after the shopping center announced a new teen chaperone policy that will go into effect in January.
Town & Country Shopping Center announced will require anyone under the age of 18 to be accompanied by an adult to visit the location beginning Jan. 1, a move it says is “in response to considerable property damage, disruption in our tenant’s businesses, and customer safety concerns.”
“This difficult decision was not taken lightly, however, the escalating damage forces this policy to be enacted, to be reevaluated in the future as the situation improves,” a statement posted on the mall’s Facebook page said. “Town & Country Shopping Center now falls in step with similar policies, instituted by the other local & regional malls, in the hopes that this will provide a short-term solution for what we hope is not a long-term problem.”
Since July, Kettering police have taken 16 police reports from incidents that were reported at the shopping center. One of those reports was for criminal damaging.
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“I looked through the details of these incidents and none of them appear to be related to a recent uptick in juvenile activity,” said Officer Tyler Johnson with Kettering Police.
Johnson also said the department has responded to nine reports of juvenile problems at the shopping center since July, but no incident reports were generated.
In October, Johnson said the department trespassed six juveniles from the area.
News Center 7 has pressed Town & Country Shopping Center for specific details and examples of what they’ve said is driving the policy change, however our requests for information and comments have gone unanswered for three days.
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