West High School was given a full-time cop because the problems that needed police attention were frequent. The mall is large enough to suggest a fulltime officer might be needed, but one fight is not enough to warrant it.   The mall security is there to keep most incidents in the mall under control, and they have a good record of doing so. Keeping an officer on the streets is more beneficial to the community as a whole.

The problem of fighting in malls doesn’t need to be cured by immediately  adding security to the staff, but rather starting at the source of the problem. Problems that arise in school, especially gossip, are a major cause of fights.

"What happens at school carries on to the weekend," said Jerome Green, a teacher of bullying and anger management at area elementary and middle schools and a community educator with Family Resources Inc. "Throughout the week, they can’t do a lot. Sure they have fights, but they can’t do what they want to do."

"I think parents need to be more aware of what their kids are doing at the mall. A lot of students go looking for trouble," Green said.

Davenport police and the mall staff have yet not released the cause of the fight, but have announced they are taking steps to prevent more large fights from happening.

We hope these steps don’t include limiting the number of teenagers that can be in the mall in the evening without an adult, like the Mall of America has done.

A 16-year-old should be able to buy clothes, CDs, and other personal items without a parent present. If a large group of teens forms and won’t leave, the police are only a phone call away.