Don Carson and Jarret Kelly might be adults, but one look at their young faces and they could easily be confused for minors.

Despite that, neither Carson nor Kelly has ever been asked by West Manchester Mall security officials to show an identification card since a policy barring unaccompanied minors from the mall went into effect about a month ago.

Carson, 18, of Dover said he understands why the mall started the policy.

"I don't think it's going to cause any issues," he said. "Sometimes kids walk around and hassle people."

Kelly, also 18 and of Dover, said teenagers usually descend upon the mall in the evening and night hours at weekends.

While Kelly said he thinks the policy will keep rowdy teens from bothering mall customers, he said it could cause some problems when GameStop, a video game store, holds midnight video games releases.

The policy: According to the mall's new policy, guests younger than 18 are required to be accompanied by a parent,

guardian, or adult 21 years old or older in the facility's common areas.

Teenagers younger than 18 who work at the mall will be allowed on the property, unaccompanied by a parent, guardian or adult 21 or older if they have proof of work status. And they must go directly to and from their place of employment, according to the policy.

Likewise, patrons younger than 18 who wish to attend Regal 13 Cinemas -- which has to be entered from inside the mall -- may also be admitted without an older chaperone if they proceed directly to and from the movie theater, according to the mall's new set of rules for minors.

It is unclear if West Manchester Mall's new policy is in line with that of other properties under the umbrella of the new ownership.

Texas-based M&R Investors in September bought the mall from New York-based Lightstone Group for $17.5 million.

Tony Ruggeri, co-founder of the Dallas firm, could not be reached for comment Monday and Tuesday.

Managers of some stores in the mall, including Fishbone Apparels & Novelties and Comix Connection, said it's too soon to tell if the new policy will have an affect on their shops' sales.

Reaction: The few times Carson and Kelly have been asked to produce identification was when they bought tickets for an R-rated movie at the theater and when buying a video game geared toward adult players.

Carson and Kelly, who were at the mall to see a movie at Regal, said some of their friends are younger than 18 and wouldn't be allowed to go to the mall with them.

"It's kind of annoying," Carson said.

Shoppers Mary and Don Sapko said they've never had or witnessed a problem with young people at the mall.

But the West York residents said they think it's a good policy nonetheless.

"Probably more people our age would come out if they were sure there wouldn't be any kind of commotion," Don Sapko said.

-- Candy Woodall can also be reached at cwoodall@yorkdispatch.com. -- Reach Greg Gross at ggross@yorkdispatch.com.