Shopping centre bans youth hoods and hats

Kerryn Anker
September 4th, 2008

THE growing issue of out-of-control youths and the fear of gang violence at Tweed Heads have forced a local shopping centre to ban hoodies and hats from the establishment after 6pm on Thursdays.

The Tweed City shopping centre has introduced a strict new dress code after continual harassment of security guards by local youths.

Head of centre management Kathryn Shuttleworth Mills said a recent spate of incidents in the centre had led to the decision.

"The sign has only been up for a week," she said.

"A dress code will soon be enforced throughout the establishment." She said that such incidents were happening at every shopping centre.

"Some youths wearing hoods or hats know where the security cameras are and hide their faces from them.

"Our security guards have had issues with some youths recently, leading to the sign being put up."

Detective Inspector Greg Carey of Tweed police said centre management had every right to enforce a dress code within the centre.

"Individual stores within the centre have also had issues with individual youths jumping on the store counters," he said.

Superintendent Michael Kenny said wearing a hoodie or brim hat could easily hide a person's identity from security cameras.

"When people wear a hoodie or hat, they can pull them over their faces to disguise themselves," he said.
"It then makes it difficult for them to be identified on the security cameras if they have caused an offence."

Supt Kennedy said there was an element of fear within the community.

The police will hold a public meeting to inform the community of its approach to reverse the problem.
"I don't believe we are a gang town, but we are urging the general public to report any gang-related incidents to police," he said.

"Until the meeting is held and we hear from the local community, we can't determine whether the issues of gangs in Tweed has grown."

He said anti-social behaviour and graffiti throughout the region had increased.

"People do get intimidated if a group of youths with hoodies on walks by," he said.

Seventeen-year-old Tweed youth Phil Hughes said Tweed City should not stop people from wearing what they wanted to wear.

"I think it's discrimination," he said.

"Everyone seems to think if you're wearing a hat or hoodie then you must be in a gang, it's not true. A lot of the time when I go into Tweed City I get stopped or looked at by the shop assistant thinking I'm going to do something, just because I'm wearing a hat."

Tweed resident Anton Iselin, 16, said he refused to step into the shopping centre now that the ban was in force.

"I don't even go into Tweed City any more because I'm sick of being pulled up by security for doing nothing. About two months ago a group of five of us were walking into the cinema and we were looked at by security like we were about to do something," he said.

"You can't be in a group of more than two otherwise you're classed as a gang, it's so stupid.
Fifteen-year-old Sarah Clifford said she was disgusted with the ban.

"I think a lot of youths in Tweed are being targeted," she said. "People seem to single you out if you walk into the shopping centre with a hoodie on or look different.

"It's really wrong."

A NSW Department of Education and Training spokesman said the overall attendance rates at Tweed schools were very similar to the state average and the proportion of youths breaking the rules was minimal.

"It is important to note that only a small proportion of non-attendance is without legitimate reason, that is, truancy," he said.

"We always aim to minimise truancy and we do that by supporting students and families with programs at school and department level.

"Schools, including staff, parents and students, all play an important role in school safety and school communities will certainly be playing their role in supporting any community safety initiative."