XPost: alt.january, alt.politics.republicans, sac.politics   
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   From: rkoch@banmlkday.com   
      
   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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