Copycat crime
Criminal act that is inspired by a previous crime / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Copycat killer" redirects here. For the EP, see Copycat Killer.
A copycat crime is a criminal act that is modeled after or inspired by a previous crime. It notably occurs after exposure to media content depicting said crimes, and/or a live criminal model.
According to a study, copycat crime is a social phenomenon that persists and is prevalent enough to have an impact on the whole criminal landscape, primarily by influencing criminal tactics as opposed to criminal motive or the emergence of criminal traits.[1]