Shopping Mall bans Baseball caps

Bothwell · Post by **Bothwell** » Thu May 12, 2005 1:56 am

At last!! One of the bigger shopping centres in the south of England (Blue Water I think) has banned Hooded tops and baseball caps in a demonstration of a zero tolerance policy on intimidation by gangs of young males.

I must be now an official "Grumpy old Git" because I reckon this is great, I have always thought that a good thing would be to arrest the wearers of 2Reversed" baseball caps and Re educate them. It would go something like this. "The bill at the front is to protect your eyes from the sun, that is how it was designed" Eeejits.

So there you go my American friends as usual we are 10 years behind you but we are aquiring Ghetto chic. Expect trousers showing reverse cleavage or "builders Bum" anytime now.

gmc · Post by **gmc** » Thu May 12, 2005 2:39 am

O.K. Bothwell ageing hippy mod or rocker? Personally I'm one of the lost generation, post hippy and pre punk. No style and the three day working week, except i was unemployed.

Peg · Post by **Peg** » Thu May 12, 2005 5:32 am

I don't get it. How are hooded shirts and baseball caps intimidating?

smithy87 · Post by **smithy87** » Thu May 12, 2005 5:46 am

Will this be extending to coats with hoods? And I only thought Harrods had a dress code

john8pies · Post by **john8pies** » Thu May 12, 2005 5:47 am

I heard this on the radio this morning - apparently they had collected stats. on it and 80-90% of the crime committed in the Centre was committed by the types who wore "hoodies" and stuff. Incredible!

Bothwell · Post by **Bothwell** » Thu May 12, 2005 6:27 am

It's pretty simple. CCTV has trouble identifying someone wearing a hoodie and a baseball cap QED

Wolverine · Post by **Wolverine** » Thu May 12, 2005 6:50 am

I am with Peg. How are "hoodies" you call them and ball caps intimidating? I see how it would make it easier to ID them on CCTV. But if a young kid comes up sporting an attitude, his "knickers"outside his "trousers" I can't help but laugh at him. If he tries to run away, he'll trip over his pants. "Bluddy Briiliant!"

Was that the correct useage? I've been watching BBC here lately.

hotsauce · Post by **hotsauce** » Thu May 12, 2005 7:09 am

I have heard kids are stealing things in their hoodies too. Their buddy drops the item in the back of the kids sweatshirt...down their hoodie part. We have outlawed them here in the school because kids were stealing things like pop tarts and cheetos from the cafateria. Crazy!

BTS · Post by **BTS** » Thu May 12, 2005 7:13 am

We're RedNecks.

We'll Keep out Caps.

Bothwell · Post by **Bothwell** » Thu May 12, 2005 7:52 am

Bluddy Briiliant!"
No that's Bloody Brilliant but it was a fair stab at it.

BTS as far as I am aware the British Mall in question has no jurisdiction over citizens currently residing in the United States, so redneck or otherwise it's a moot point.

pink princess · Post by **pink princess** » Thu May 12, 2005 7:58 am

fantastic!!

cant stand em, little sh*ts!!

they are intimidating because they walk round in gangs of about 20 and you can barely see any of their faces, its not so much what they wear but the majority of the kids who dress like it are simply thugs.....

theres an alleyway where i work and one time i walked down it, there was a gang of about 20 of them all stood there, i just kenw they were causing trouble, i turned round and went back to work the long way

abbey · Post by **abbey** » Thu May 12, 2005 8:08 am

I have to agree with P.P, groups of kids with caps on & hoods pulled up intimidate me too.

I went into a shopping precinct today & saw 3 lads pull their hoods up just before they walked in, so you naturally assume they're up to no good.

BabyRider · Post by **BabyRider** » Thu May 12, 2005 9:23 am

I'll admit I have no idea what the situation is over there with gangs. Apparently you folks are having lots of problems with them, since all the members from there seem to be in favor of this ban. But I really have to wonder, where will it end? If we were to try something like that here, we'd probably have riots. And if the look of caps and hoodies is intimidating, my son would look just like a gang-banger over there. He lives in caps and hoodies. Not to mention the fact that if "looking like a gang-banger" is cause for banning, why not just ban anyone black from the malls. See where I'm going with this? If one of you could possibly tell about the problems you're having with the gangs, maybe I could understand it better. It's really that bad over there?

Bothwell · Post by **Bothwell** » Thu May 12, 2005 9:28 am

BR I don't think it is that bad, but as has already been said several youths entering the mall and then pulling up hoods will usually presage some crap. I have seen a few today and it's about 68 deg outside, no real need for a hoodie.

I think what has happened is statistical, i.e. not all wearers are baddies but most baddies are wearers.

There must be something in it as I dont think a commercial organisation would be risking losing customers over it.

TMC · Post by **TMC** » Thu May 12, 2005 9:29 am

BabyRider wrote: It's really that bad over there?

No.

BabyRider · Post by **BabyRider** » Thu May 12, 2005 9:32 am

OK, what if someone walked in with a baseball cap, worn correctly that read "Jesus Saves"? Would that be allowed or just no caps under any circumstance? (I'm not trying to badger, just to understand. No sarcasm in that question at all.)

TMC · Post by **TMC** » Thu May 12, 2005 9:40 am

If someone bought a cap or hoodie in one of the shops, would they be allowed to try it on, the whole things rediclous.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Thu May 12, 2005 9:47 am

i spent years busting shoplifters undercover. one of the first things that would get my attention was out-of-season or bulky clothing that was useful to conceal items. i have no clue about the problem over in old blighty, and certainly don't make generalizations about the uniform of the youth, just an observation about the shopkeepers concerns.

abbey · Post by **abbey** » Thu May 12, 2005 11:52 am

In major Cities in the UK gangs of shoplifters converge on shopping centres, the hoodies afford them a little anonymity.

I have just googled it & it seems to be a nationwide problem, unfortunately every time i put a link up it comes up cannot find server for some reason.

Peg · Post by **Peg** » Thu May 12, 2005 12:46 pm

If I were a shoplifter, I'm thinking I'd wear the ball cap the right way to hide my face better.

BabyRider · Post by **BabyRider** » Thu May 12, 2005 12:49 pm

So is this a preventive measure for shoplifting, or a gang-related issue? Or both?

abbey · Post by **abbey** » Thu May 12, 2005 12:57 pm

B.R, Try this link, click on news at the top of home page & look for, chav ban at shopping centre.

While at the site, just look at the crap that schools over here feed the kids.

I would'nt feed my dog that crap!

http://www.mirror.co.uk

Tombstone · Post by **Tombstone** » Thu May 12, 2005 1:08 pm

Bothwell wrote: At last!! One of the bigger shopping centres in the south of England (Blue Water I think) has banned Hooded tops and baseball caps in a demonstration of a zero tolerance policy on intimidation by gangs of young males.

I must be now an official "Grumpy old Git" because I reckon this is great, I have always thought that a good thing would be to arrest the wearers of 2Reversed" baseball caps and Re educate them. It would go something like this. "The bill at the front is to protect your eyes from the sun, that is how it was designed" Eeejits.

So there you go my American friends as usual we are 10 years behind you but we are aquiring Ghetto chic. Expect trousers showing reverse cleavage or "builders Bum" anytime now.

Some of the major amusement parks instituted this in California (don't know about the other "crowded" states) about 10 years ago. They had fights break out over team colors! You are not allowed to wear jerseys, hats, or anything that had a professional team logo.

This Ghetto Chic stuff is ridiculous. Thank-you MTV.

Thank goodness we don't have that problem around here.

A. Most of the parents care and don't let their kids just "hang-out" at the mall. And if they found out they were "ganging" or causing problems, there would be hell to pay at home.

B. Most of the adult Idaho men are intimidating by themselves. Don't think Cowboys. Think Miners, Lumberjacks, and Tradesmen. In California, I was a big guy. I'm an average joe here. God help any gangbangers who show up and even begin to intimidate our wives or kids.

I love Northern Idaho!

jpcme · Post by **jpcme** » Fri May 20, 2005 2:13 am

BabyRider wrote: So is this a preventive measure for shoplifting, or a gang-related issue? Or both?

Neither its a financial issue, Blue Water is thought of as one of the more upmarket centre's in the area with lots of designer stores and they feel that the gangs in their hoodies are scaring away customers and giving the place a down market reputation.

abbey · Post by **abbey** » Fri May 20, 2005 6:03 am

It was reported in the Daily Mirror today that Bluewaters visitors have increased by 23% since the ban & now other malls are thinking of following suit.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/