LOS ANGELES — Recent FBI data indicates that shoplifting “flash mob” incidents have begun to decline, reflecting improvements in crime tracking and reporting.
According to KTLA 5 News, in 2023, groups of juveniles were stealing more than $10,000 worth of goods from local malls, coordinating “smash-and-grab” robberies.
KTLA 5 reports that dozens of people would run into stores at once with bags and steal large amounts of items before running out, knocking down or even taking store fixtures as well.
The children showed no signs of harm or threats of violence.
The Los Angeles Times reported that a Nordstrom at Westfield Topanga Mall in August 2023 suffered losses between $60,000 and $100,000.
KTLA 5 states that California used a $267 million grant to aid local law enforcement agencies in increasing surveillance patrols in response to these robberies.
Jeff Asher, a nationally recognized crime analyst and co-founder of AH Datalytics, states that these types of incidents appear to be falling, according to recent reports from the FBI.
He argues that these “flash mob” shoplifting incidents have become more visible, receiving disproportionate media coverage when they occur.
However, he claims that these incidents are overall exceedingly rare, making up only 0.1% of all shoplifting incidents reported to the FBI between 2020 and 2024.
According to Asher, the number of shoplifting flash mob incidents reported to the FBI increased in 2024 due to improved reporting from agencies such as the New York Police Department and Los Angeles Police Department, as they became National Incident-Based Reporting System-compliant.
The FBI reports that the majority of these offenders are under 20 years old, with 65% of those arrested between 2020 and 2024 under 30, compared to 36% of people arrested in all other shoplifting cases.
Asher highlights caveats with the FBI’s reports, noting that they are written for public consumption.
He notes that this is one of more than a dozen special reports the FBI has released since the beginning of 2025, describing the bureau’s efforts to “better communicate crime data and trends.”
He further states that the report could easily be replicated by the public “with a little gumption and know-how.”
With the FBI’s monthly data reports, the findings can be extended to the end of 2025, showing a downward trend.
To demonstrate this, Asher used the FBI’s NIBRS master files and recorded every incident between 2022 and 2025 of flash mob shoplifting, according to their definition of the offense.
He removed agencies that were not reporting to NIBRS in 2022 to ensure consistency.
He found that the number of incidents peaked in 2023 and 2024 before declining in 2025.
Therefore, even if figures are underreported by agencies, the trend remains clear.
Asher concludes that shoplifting is severely underreported to police, while high-profile incidents are reported more frequently.
Overall, these types of incidents are decreasing, and agencies are now able to measure and report complex offenses in real time.
The transition to NIBRS initially created confusion and misinformation, but it is now evident that it has brought significant improvements and benefits.
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