Flash rob

A flash rob, also known as a multiple offender crime or flash mob robbery, is an organized form of theft in which a group of participants enter a retail shop or convenience store en masse and steal goods and other items.[1][2][3] Typically, store workers and employees in these cases quickly become overwhelmed by the large number of participants and cannot stop the theft.[4][5]

The National Retail Federation does not classify these crimes as "flash mobs" but rather "multiple offender crimes" that utilize "flash mob tactics".[6][7] In a report, the NRF noted, "multiple offender crimes tend to involve groups or gangs of juveniles who already know each other, which does not earn them the term 'flash mob'."[7]

  1. ^ Murphy, Pat (16 August 2011). "7-11 flash mob: Maryland police investigate store robbery (Video)". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  2. ^ Justin Jouvenal; Dan Morse (15 August 2011). "Police probe Germantown flash-mob thefts". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  3. ^ Erin Skarda (12 May 2011). "Flash Mobs Turned Criminal: The Rise of Flash Robberies". Time. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  4. ^ Dade, Corey (26 May 2011). "Flash Mobs Aren't Just For Fun Anymore". NPR. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  5. ^ Vaughan, Annie (18 June 2011). "Teenage Flash Mob Robberies on the Rise". FOX News. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  6. ^ Jeffrey Ian Ross (2013). Encyclopedia of Street Crime in America. Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1412999571. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  7. ^ a b "Multiple Offender Crimes" (PDF). National Retail Federation. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.