Chicago Media Declares War On Flash Mobs, Mayor/Police Not So Much
from the meet-me-in-the-comments-section-in-five-minutes dept
Flash mobs are an odd sort of creature in the internet age. Normally, we associate them with some creative ways to entertain others or as a way to organize protests big and small. But now the esteemed Chicago media is reporting that several crimes in the Magnificent Mile area of downtown Chicago "have stoked growing fears of criminal teen flash mobs." And who has been stoking those fears?The Chicago newspapers, of course -- who have declared that these crimes are all due to "flash mobs."
Last weekend there were four violent robberies in the city's famous shopping district, most or all of which appear to have been committed by relatively large groups of people (5-15). One such incident, which has been getting the most attention, resulted in a 68 year old man having his iPad and phone stolen by a group of teenagers. In addition, a new tactic for young thieves in the shopping districts appears to be to flood a store, disperse, and coordinate a mass grab-and-run via text message. This tactic has been noticed for the past three to four years.
The result has been a mini-media frenzy around "flash mobs", even though most of the crimes reported aren't anything of the sort. Most are your standard everyday robberies, occurring in a neighborhood in Chicago where shops and shoppers (theoretically those with money to spend) are located. But four robberies resulted in a couple of press conferences, one including new Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, who cautioned reporters not to...you know...make stuff up:
The new superintendent cautioned reporters not to lump all of the incidents into the same category. Some are shoplifting. Others are robberies. And on Tuesday night, there was an incident that he called completely unrelated. One group of young men solicited cigarettes from another group of young men. When one man took out his wallet to pay, a member of the other group snatched the wallet and ran.But thanks to this media attention, police are being diverted to the Magnificent Mile, an area with a relatively low violent crime rate, historically. What's interesting is how associations with certain terms can change. Flash mobs were fun. Now, thanks to a local press with an overactive imagination during a slow news week (ah, Chicago baseball teams...), Chicago is beginning to associate negativity with the term, so much so that police are being diverted from truly violent neighborhoods to the shopping district to stave off the fear of unruly teenagers coordinating their crimes via text message and social media. And if the police are reacting this way now, at the start of the summer season, what in the world are they going to do during the festival season, when destinations like the Taste of Chicago and Lollapolooza spring up?
“These three men chased ten men to get the wallet back and eventually caught up to the ten men and lost the fight. That in no way shape or form represents anything that we’ve been talking about,” he said.
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Filed Under: blame, chicago, flash mobs, media
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Chicago Crime Map
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Re: Chicago Crime Map
This is no where near a flash mob. This is a bunch of stupid kids using cell phones and social media to commit misdemeanor offenses. A flash mob is 5,000 people showing up at a mall in NY to see a singer, its 100 singers showing up in orlando international with fans, its Arab spring. This sort of stupidity by news types, as a prelude to banning flash mobs, does not work legally, constitutionally, or even have a chance of working in reality.
You wrote a great article. Keep it up.
David
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http://www.google.com/search?q=flash+mob+robbery&tbm=vid
The media loves this stuff, to be sure, but established modern police strategy, as part of the Broken Windows theory, is that highly visible disruptions of the peace, like gangs of thugs overwhelming a poor shop owner and robbing the hell out of a store with large numbers, need to be stopped lest it create a larger climate of crime and motivate other criminals.
Whether there are a lot of these incidents or not, stopping them is very important to curb a culture of lawlessness. And to preserve the good name of actual flash mobs, which, while SO over, are harmless fun.
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http://hydeparkprogress.blogspot.com/2011/06/citizen-outcry-over-cpd-absence-during.html
For those not from Chicago, Hyde park is a diverse and fascinating neighborhood on the South Side, home of the University of Chicago, and it is surrounded by troubled areas.
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Good job chief of police
Of course it's a shame that the other rational response is beefing up police patrols anyway, because of the cost of the negative press.
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Re: Good job chief of police
Well, I'm glad he said what he said too, but recent comments about attacking this "problem" by patroling entry points (trains) for groups of teens that are loud, mocking others, and/or dressed like gangbangers seems wholly unsensible.
Basically he'd be looking for every group of white suburban kids coming into the city....
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flash mobs
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Re: flash mobs
to be honest, it would take a LOT to get me to go to the USA. and by a lot i'm talking millions, an incredibly good reason, and bodyguards
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Re: flash mobs
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Finally... a sensible article.
It's news like this contained in tightly written posts that keeps me coming back to Techdirt. I'm all for more stuff by whoever the hell this is and less of that Mike guy or that other Tim, who should probably reclaim his job at the koolaid factory.
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Re: Finally... a sensible article.
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Re: Re: Finally... a sensible article.
On the other hand, it'll be years before my hands return to their normal, unstained skin tone.
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Re: Finally... a sensible article.
then i read the second half and it leaves me wanting a 'troll' button ...
but then i'm wondering wheither it's meant to be a joke...
so confused.
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Very Real Problem
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Re:
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Meanwhile...
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=printers+row+lit+fest+make+your+mark&aq=f
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