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https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/10/04/philly-police- e464ffa18fc8b389e734c88dce4587531eb705aa-s800-c85.webp

An image from security camera footage shows alleged thieves
breaking into a P.C. Richard & Son appliance store in
Philadelphia in late September.

Philadelphia Police Department
The dramatic video footage often appears on TV news and social
media: A large group of people storm into a store, smashing
display cases and snatching loose merchandise before escaping in
minutes before the police have had time to respond.

Authorities say these so-called "flash mob" thefts are sometimes
organized on social media and often target high-end goods that
can be resold. The thieves occasionally use violence to carry
out their crimes and aren't hampered by traditional techniques
to prevent shoplifting, such as security tags and alarms.

California has seen a number of large-scale smash-and-grabs in
recent months. Last month in Philadelphia, thieves looted stores
across the city over the course of several nights, with
prosecutors charging more than 70 people.

It's unclear from the data whether these specific incidents are
actually on the rise, but retailers, law enforcement authorities
and elected officials are raising the alarm about a trend they
say is worsening across the U.S.

"First and foremost, these are very traumatic events. They also
have the biggest potential for violence," said David Johnston,
vice president for asset protection and retail operations at the
National Retail Federation.

"The disruption to the consumer and the disruption to the
retailer is [also] much greater, because the store has to close,
the store has to repair, merchandise has to be replenished," he
added.

Combating "flash mob" thefts is a challenge, but retailers are
trying
People steal goods from stores in a number of ways, from simple
shoplifting to organized retail crime, in which coordinated
groups boost merchandise to resell on the black market.

Another category — "flash mob" thefts or smash-and-grabs — can
prove especially tricky to stop.

The thieves strike in such large numbers that an individual
store employee or security guard may not intervene. Thefts occur
so quickly that they're usually over before law enforcement
arrives. And the perpetrators, who aren't hiding the fact that
they're committing a crime, are typically unbothered by security
alarms and other traditional anti-theft measures.

"Whether there's an increase [in "flash mob" thefts] or not,
retailers are becoming much more aware of it, and especially
those in higher-risk locations," said Drew Neckar, president of
Security Advisors Consulting Group.

Companies have resorted to new strategies to try to reduce their
chances of being targeted by a flash mob and stop the crimes
once they begin.

They're hiring more security officers, locking up merchandise
including everyday essentials like pain medicine and baby
formula and reverting to early pandemic-era strategies of
reducing the amount of access points and limiting the number of
customers allowed in at once, Johnston said.

Some northern California retailers have sought out smoke bombs
and air horns to repel crowds of thieves, LAist reported. In
2021, Home Depot rearranged its entrances to help prevent theft,
adding gates that only allowed traffic to flow in one direction,
The Wall Street Journal found.

Neckar says other strategies stores can adopt include shining
bright lights at the entrance so employees can see when a group
is arriving, installing lockable doors with break-resistant
glass and displaying high-value merchandise in different parts
of a store to make it harder for thieves to grab in a hurry.

Incidents may feel like they're on the rise, but it's an open
question
Still, it's unclear if the seemingly common "flash mob" thefts
are actually increasing — or if they're simply getting more
attention in the press and on social media.

Depending on the jurisdiction and the circumstances of a
specific incident, people arrested for participating in "flash
mob" thefts can face different charges — from burglary to
disorderly conduct and others — making it hard to show a trend.
Many cities also don't report their crime data to the FBI's
national database.

According to UC Berkeley law professor Jonathan Simon, images of
the large-group thefts can provoke a strong reaction from the
public, whether the numbers are up or not.

"These things are really powerful events in terms of their grasp
on our imagination," he said.

"You don't have to be a Hollywood screenwriter to figure out
that that would be a really alarming scenario in terms of the
kinds of things that in our culture we fear — young people,
groups, masked and disguised people," Simon added.

While the National Retail Federation doesn't specifically track
"flash mob" thefts, the group says all forms of theft are up.

Businesses worry it's part of a trend of rising thefts
An NRF survey released last month estimated that "shrink" — the
term for losses in the retail sector — amounted to $112.1
billion in 2022, up nearly 20% from the year before.

External theft — which includes things like "flash mob" thefts,
shoplifting and organized retail crime — accounted for 36% of
losses. Twenty-nine percent of losses occurred due to employee
theft, while another 27% was due to things like cashier errors
and incorrect pricing.

According to Johnston of the National Retail Federation, the
increase in thefts comes alongside an even more worrying trend:
an uptick in violence in retail settings.

"This has truly, truly become a safety issue out there," he
said. "I hear time and time again from the retailers that even
though there is a financial impact to the retailers'
profitability, hands down they're talking about the safety."

Target announced last month that it was closing nine stores in
four states, because theft had become a safety issue. But in
January, Walgreens Chief Financial Officer James Kehoe said
"maybe we cried too much last year" about a rise in thefts,
noting the company responded by adding too much security.

Nevertheless, elected officials have responded to complaints
about growing retail crime.

California law enforcement officials announced last month that
they would spend $267 million to tamp down on smash-and-grabs,
and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass recently launched a task force
targeting organized retail theft.

A federal law that took effect in June, called the INFORM
Consumers Act, addresses the problem in another way, by
requiring online marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace and eBay
to verify the identities of high-volume sellers.

https://www.npr.org/2023/10/09/1203697964/flash-mob-retail-thefts

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