> "safe area" This means "I can leave my teenagers there without worrying". Malls have private security. They can (and do) escort people out who are doing thin

> "safe area" This means "I can leave my teenagers there without worrying". Malls have private security. They can (and do) escort people out who are doing things that are bad for business. That includes all sorts of things that are legal (and should be legal!) but aren't appropriate in that context. Other things are illegal but impossible to eliminate from public life (and public parks). Many of those things are things you'd worry about your teenager being around. Like public drinking. Drug use (legal and not). Misdemeanor violence. Sexual harassment from random citizens (creepy middle aged people with panel vans). Public sexual conduct (sex in the bushes or in the bathroom stall). In other words, "safe area" is code for "free low-grade babysitting".