Flash mobs threatening law and order in the US and abroad

You're tending your store when you begin to notice a large number of people, all kids, gathering in and around the place. You're concerned so you start to investigate, but it's already too late. In the stroke of a second, the group, as if on cue, begins to loot and trash everything in sight. Within 60 seconds, a gang of almost 30 people are fleeing your establishment with whatever they can carry of your inventory. The rest is trash, on the floor. This is a "flash mob" and authorities say it's a growing trend across the US and England where they are being organized on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

LOS ANGELES (Catholic Online) - One such flash mob did as described at a convenience store in Maryland on Saturday. A mob of 28 youths gathered in a convenience store and looted the entire place in less than a minute. They were gone before the owner could call police. Other mobs have been even more dangerous.

In England, police are pursuing leads to track down those responsible for organizing gangs of looters during the recent riots there. It is believed they used social media to organize.
 
Until now, the flash mob has been a benign trend amongst the youth which have used them to promote activities, spread awareness, or simply to entertain. The most recent incidents in London and Maryland have shown that flash mobs can be efficiently organized via social media and with dire consequences if the mob's aim is criminal.

Authorities in both countries are worried. In London, Prime Minister David Cameron told Parliament, "when people are using social media for violence, we need to stop them."

Philadelphia Mayor, Michael Nutter is imposing a 9 PM curfew for minors in the city on Fridays and Saturdays. Violators risk fines. Similar violent flash mob incidents have been reported in Cleveland, Chicago, and Washington DC. One person was severely beaten in a flash mob at the Wisconsin State Fair prompting the deployment of additional state troopers to secure the event.
 
However, authorities in both countries are using social media to catch the culprits. Public tips are coming in over the same social networks that the youths in Maryland and England have used. Several arrests have been made in England, but none yet in Maryland, although it is believed they will occur soon. The recent events underscore that social media is a tool which like any other can be used for good or evil, depending on the users themselves.

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