A flash rob, also known as a multiple offender crime or flash mob robbery, is an organized form of

theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for som ...

in which a group of participants enter a retail shop or convenience store

en masse Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Engli ...

and steal goods and other items. Typically, store workers and employees in these cases quickly become overwhelmed by the large number of participants and are unable to stop the theft. The

National Retail Federation The National Retail Federation (NRF) is the world's largest retail trade association. Its members include department stores, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, and independent retailers, chain restaurants, grocery stores, and multi-level ma ...

does not classify these crimes as "flash mobs" but rather "multiple offender crimes" that utilize "flash mob tactics". 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'."

Etymology

The term often used by the media for this type of event is "flash rob", which originates from

flash mob A flash mob (or flashmob) is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform for a brief time, then quickly disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and artistic expression. Flash mobs may be organized via t ...

s, where a group of people assemble quickly, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act, and then disperse. In

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

this kind of robbery is known as ''turbazo''.

Flash rob dynamics

Flash robs operate using speed and sheer numbers in order to intimidate any resistance and complete the act before police can respond. While often viewed as a form of ''theft'' or '' looting'' (the illegal taking of items), these crimes more closely fit the definition of robbery because the large crowd creates an ''implied threat of violence'' should employees or bystanders attempt to intervene. Many investigations into these robberies have shown that they are planned ahead of time using

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

, and the participants do not all necessarily know each other personally.

United States

Flash robs have occurred in places such as

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

, Houston, Texas, and

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, Germantown, Maryland,

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

Walnut Creek, California Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about east of the city of Oakland. With a total population of 70,127 per the 2020 census, Walnut Creek s ...

and Beverly Hills, California.

Brazil

Brazil has seen mass flash robberies since at least the early 1990s. In a phenomenon known as ''arrastão'' (trawling), mobs will steal money, telephone, watches, rings, bags and sometimes even victim's clothing. The most infamous case of trawling took place on 18 October 1992, on Ipanema beach in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

, when hundreds of young

Afro-Brazilian Afro-Brazilians ( pt, afro-brasileiros; ) are Brazilians who have predominantly African ancestry (see " preto"). Most members of another group of people, multiracial Brazilians or ''pardos'', may also have a range of degree of African ancestry. ...

s ran together in a mass to rob beach goers. As a result of mass flash robberies, shopping malls in Brazil have heavy security, and typically prevent large crowds of young Afro-Brazilians from entering the private property, which has been called a form of soft-apartheid. In 2013, a '' rolezinho'' (strolling) protest movement arose amongst Afro-Brazilian youth, where thousands of young people coordinated their simultaneous entry to normally inaccessible upscale shopping malls. In some rolezinhos, the police were called and crowds were dispersed with tear gas and flash grenades.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Flash mob Robbery Crime in the United States by type Robberies in Brazil Looting

Etymology

Flash rob dynamics

United States

Brazil

See also

References