Multiple Offender Crimes & Criminal Flash Mobs
How to thwart a criminal flash mob
Flash mobs -- groups that arrange to meet in a certain place at a prearranged time -- often aim to do nothing more than amuse the crowd and dance together for a YouTube video, but a growing number of criminal flash mobs are meeting up to wreck stores and steal merchandise, often injuring people in their wake, writes NRF's Joe LaRocca. NRF has issued new guidelines for retailers looking to protect themselves against flash mobs. Learn more.
Caught on tape: Surveillance shows criminal flash mob looting D.C.-area storeAn associate working the night shift at a D.C.-area 7-Eleven was rendered helpless as dozens of youths rushed the store and stole merchandise around 2 a.m. on Saturday. Video of the incident shows many of the offenders smiling and laughing before walking out of the store without paying. More...
Additional Resources:
NRF's Crowd Management Guidelines
In anticipation of Black Friday and other events that bring large crowds during the holiday season, NRF has released its 2011 Crowd Management Guidelines. These guidelines, created in collaboration with retail loss prevention executives, examine both the expected and unexpected factors in managing large crowds. More...
Civil Disturbance
Large crowds descend for many reasons – planned and unplanned events, however some converge for protests or rallies such as the Occupy Wall Street or World Bank/IMF protests. Items to consider in a crowd management policy regarding civil disturbances are located here. More...
Multiple Offender Crimes Guidelines
In response to the rise in popularity of this type of retail theft, NRF has compiled guidelines and protocols of more than 100 retail companies to better understand how to respond.
>> Explore the guidelines.
