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A Bakersfield Target located inside of the the Valley Plaza Mall recently banned unaccompanied teens from shopping inside of the store after 4:00 p.m. According to SF Gate, store employees are not permitted to check IDs to make sure that the potential customer is in fact a teenager. If an individual enters the establishment in the evening without an adult and simply looks younger than 18, they are legally at risk of being "ejected" by an employee. Individuals under the age of 18 are not even allowed to enter the store to visit the Starbucks.
The new policy was put in place to slow a recent uptick in shoplifting and fighting among teens throughout the store. A handful of parents are not fans of the new policy, stating that their "rule-abiding" children should not be turned away. Local mother Avelina Caywood told FOX11 News that her 19-year-old son was recently refused entry into the Target.
"He was stopped at the front by security. They asked him how old he was and he asked them why and the security told him because anyone 18 and under can't enter Target without an adult after 4 p.m."
Caywood hardly believed what she was hearing, until two weeks later, her 16-year-old daughter was also asked to leave the premises of the popular retail store.
“My daughter was questioning, well, 'I don’t understand, it’s not like I was making trouble and why don’t they kick out the teens that do make trouble.'" Though it has been requested by multiple residents, a sign clearly stating the rules surrounding the new policy has yet to be posted inside or outside of the store.