The co-owner of Corn Dog 7 at Pemberton Square mall has an offer for Vicksburg parents: “If you want to see how your child acts, you can come sit in my storeroom and watch.”

But, Pam Green quickly added, “By appointment only.”

Disciplinary problems with unsupervised young people are a hot topic at Vicksburg’s only enclosed shopping center.

Authorities arrested three young women and one adult female for fighting near the Cinema 4 entrance Saturday after the late movies finished at about 11 p.m. Five more young people were arrested a short time later for violating the city’s midnight curfew.

Mall manager Renee Williams stressed that the Saturday night fights were the first in “over a year” at the shopping center.

Movie theater manager John Aultman declined to be interviewed.

Lt. Davey Barnette, shift supervisor at the Vicksburg Police Department, said the incident was the first since last summer. However, when children are not in school, calls often come from the mall, he said.

Dealing with young people is a double-edged sword for mall merchants: While many are big spenders, some are unruly.

The mall doesn’t have any restrictions on children, though mall security does monitor them. “We don’t disclose publicly all of our security policies,” Williams said.

Several other malls in Mississippi, including several of the state’s biggest, like Northpark and Metrocenter malls in the Jackson area and the Mall at Barnes Crossing in Tupelo, adopted policies prohibiting unsupervised young people during certain hours, usually at night and on weekends.

Chattanooga, Tenn.-based CBL & Associates owns the 20-year-old Vicksburg mall and nearby Pemberton Plaza, as well as malls in Hattiesburg and Meridian. Overall, the company owns 63 malls in 27 states, making it one of the top five-largest mall owners in the United States.

The company examines whether age policies are needed on a case-by-case basis, Williams said. She would not say if such a policy is being considered for Pemberton Square.

“Children in a mall, that’s happening everywhere. Children do have quite a bit of disposable income. Some stores benefit more than others,” Williams said. She mentioned restaurants and video arcades as stores where young people spend a lot of money.

Greg Guhse, the manager of video arcade Cyberstation, said unsupervised children should not be allowed in the mall.

“If they don’t have a driver’s license, they really shouldn’t be dropped off at the mall,” Guhse said.

“Teenagers are our business, but I think the mall itself has a problem. We, ourselves, (at his store) are able to keep things under control,” Guhse said.

“I know on Friday and Saturday nights there are a bunch of kids. You can actually feel uncomfortable going out to your vehicle,” Guhse said. Police estimated the crowd outside the mall on Saturday night to be 200 to 300 young people.

Andy Elqadi owns or co-owns six clothing and jewelry stores, making him one of the mall’s biggest tenants. He said he is not concerned with unsupervised children.

“They hang out at the mall. They spend money,” Elqadi said.

Many merchants, some of whom would not speak on the record because of store policies, said they would support a ban on children below the age of 15 being in the mall without a parent or guardian.

“I need the kids. On Friday and Saturday nights, the kids are basically my income,” Green said.

Nevertheless, she’d support some type of ban.

“Kids under 16, those are your troublemakers,” she added.

Jordan Mohd has owned Jordan, a clothing store specializing in urban wear, for 10 years. He’ll soon be moving, he said, because of slow traffic and problems with shoplifting.

“The kids will be coming at 6 and that’s it, business is dead. All the adults leave. It’s like school, kids running around, kids screaming,” Mohd said.

He said he loses $300 to $400 per week in stolen merchandise.

Williams said the mall, which has slightly more than seven football fields’ worth of retail space, is doing well, and several retailers are planning expansions or renovations. Although sales were flat for the mall’s 40 tenants from 2003 to 2004, they rose from 2002 to 2003, she said.

But several merchants weren’t pleased with the direction of the mall.

Green pointed to the loss of Bath and Body Works and FYE music store within the last six months.

The mall has 12 vacancies, Williams said.