CLARKSBURG, West Virginia – On Dec. 3, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program released “Reported Flash Mob Shoplifting Incidents: 2020-2024” on the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer. Flash Mob, also known as Flash Rob, is a form of shoplifting that occurs when an organized group, usually teenagers, collectively steal from one retail store.Flash mob shoplifting is not a specific offense for law enforcement agencies to report in the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS); however, the versatility of the data collection can be used to compile data that characterize as a flash mob.For this report, the FBI analyzed shoplifting offenses reported at a location defined as a store, with six or more offenders, and no more than one business reported as a victim over the 5-year
