Copycat crime

A criminal act influenced by publicity about, or imitation of, an earlier offense. The influence may involve copying its methods, target, symbolism, or notoriety.

Social learning theory: A theory that behavior is learned through observing others, interacting with them, and experiencing consequences. It explains how offenders may acquire techniques or expectations by observing publicized crimes.
Columbine effect: The pattern of later attackers invoking or imitating the 1999 Columbine High School shooting. It is a prominent example of later violence shaped by a heavily publicized attack.
Contagion effect: The spread of a behavior or outcome through exposure to other people experiencing or performing it. It captures the proposed social transmission behind clusters of imitative offenses.
Media effects: Changes in people's beliefs, emotions, or behavior associated with exposure to media. Copycat-crime claims depend on whether exposure changes offending behavior.
Observational learning: Learning that occurs by watching another person's actions and their consequences. A publicized offense can serve as a model for imitating a crime.
Unabomber copycats: Criminal threats or attacks that imitate tactics associated with the Unabomber case. The case illustrates how a notorious offender's methods can inspire imitation.
Werther effect: An increase in suicides associated with prominent or sensationalized reporting of suicide. It is a well-studied media-contagion analogy, distinct from criminal imitation.
Moral panic: A heightened public reaction portraying a person or group as a threat to social order. Claims of copycat waves can amplify fear even when evidence of imitation is uncertain.
Media contagion: The spread of behavior through exposure to media portrayals of other people's actions. It describes how crime coverage may contribute to imitation beyond direct personal contact.
Jack the Ripper copycats: Crimes or hoaxes that invoke the name or methods associated with the unidentified Victorian murderer Jack the Ripper. The enduring notoriety of the original murders has repeatedly supplied a model and symbolic identity.

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