In
criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/
asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the perpetrator may use a
weapon
A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, ...
to force the victim into a vehicle, but it is still kidnapping if the victim is enticed to enter the vehicle willingly (e.g. in the belief that it is a taxicab).
![Ståhlbergs' at the railwaystation](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/St%C3%A5hlbergs%27_at_the_railwaystation.jpg)
Kidnapping may be done to demand for
ransom in exchange for releasing the victim, or for other illegal purposes. Kidnapping can be accompanied by bodily injury which elevates the crime to aggravated kidnapping.
Kidnapping of a
child is known as
child abduction
Child abduction or child theft is the unauthorized removal of a minor (a child under the age of legal adulthood) from the custody of the child's natural parents or legally appointed guardians.
The term ''child abduction'' includes two lega ...
, which is a separate legal category.
Motivations
![Dinah tissot](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Dinah_tissot.jpg)
Kidnapping of children is usually done by one parent or others. The kidnapping of adults is often for ransom or to force someone to withdraw money from an
ATM, but may also be for
sexual assault. Children have also been kidnapped for the commission of sexual assault.
In the past, and presently in some parts of the world (such as southern
Sudan), kidnapping is a common means used to obtain
slaves and money through ransom. In less recent times, kidnapping in the form of
shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
ing (or "
pressganging") men were used to supply merchant ships in the 19th century with
sailor
A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship.
The profession of the s ...
s, whom the law considered
unfree labour
Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
.
Criminal gangs are estimated to make up to $500 million a year in ransom payments from kidnapping.
Kidnapping has been identified as one source by which terrorist organizations have been known to obtain funding. The Perri, Lichtenwald and MacKenzie article identified "tiger" kidnapping as a specific method used by either the
Real Irish Republican Army
The Real Irish Republican Army, or Real IRA (RIRA), is a dissident Irish republican paramilitary group that aims to bring about a United Ireland. It formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional IRA by dissident members, who rejected the ...
or
Continuity Irish Republican Army, in which a kidnapped family member is used to force someone to steal from their employer.
*
Bride kidnapping
Bride kidnapping, also known as marriage by abduction or marriage by capture, is a practice in which a man abducts the woman he wishes to marry.
Bride kidnapping (hence the portmanteau bridenapping) has been practiced around the world and ...
is a term often applied loosely, to include any bride "abducted" against the will of her parents, even if she is willing to marry the "abductor". It still is traditional amongst certain
nomad
A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the po ...
ic peoples of
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
. It has seen a resurgence in
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
since the fall of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
and the subsequent erosion of women's rights.
*
Express kidnapping
Express kidnapping ( es, secuestro exprés; pt, sequestro relâmpago) is a method of abduction where a small immediate ransom is demanded, often by the victim being forced to withdraw money from their ATM account.
Known in the United States sin ...
is a method of abduction used in some countries, mainly from
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, where a small ransom, that a company or family can easily pay, is demanded.
*
Tiger kidnapping
A tiger kidnapping or tiger robbery involves two separate crimes. The first crime usually involves an abduction of a person or something someone highly values. Instead of demanding money, the captors demand that a second crime be committed on the ...
is taking a
hostage
A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or refr ...
to make a loved one or associate of the victim do something (e.g. a child is taken hostage to force the shopkeeper to open the safe). The term originates from the usually long preceding observation, like a tiger does on the prowl.
Kidnapping has sometimes been used by the family and friends of a member of an alleged
cult as a method to remove the member from the alleged cult and begin a
deprogramming
Deprogramming is a controversial tactic that attempts to help someone who has "strongly held convictions," often coming from cults or New Religious Movements (NRM). Deprogramming aims to assist a person who holds a controversial or restrictive be ...
process. Deprogramming and
exit counseling
Deprogramming is a controversial tactic that attempts to help someone who has "strongly held convictions," often coming from cults or New Religious Movements (NRM). Deprogramming aims to assist a person who holds a controversial or restrictive b ...
have been used with the purpose of getting alleged cult members to abandon their groups' beliefs. The danger presented by cult groups has been used by deprogrammers to justify using the extreme act of kidnapping to get alleged members to change their allegiance away from the group.
By jurisdiction
Australia
In Australia, kidnapping is a criminal offence, as defined by either the State crimes act, or the Commonwealth Criminal Code. It is a serious indictable offence, and is punishable by up to 14 – 25 years imprisonment.
Canada
Kidnapping that does not result in a
homicide is a
hybrid offence
A hybrid offence, dual offence, Crown option offence, dual procedure offence, offence triable either way, or wobbler is one of the special class offences in the common law jurisdictions where the case may be prosecuted either summarily or as i ...
that comes with a maximum possible penalty of
life imprisonment (18 months if tried summarily). A murder that results from kidnapping is classified as 1st-degree, with a sentence of life imprisonment that results from conviction (the mandatory penalty for
murder under Canadian law
In Canada, homicide is the act of causing death to another person through any means, directly or indirectly. Homicide can either be culpable or non-culpable, with the former being unlawful under a category of offences defined in the Criminal Code, ...
).
Colombia
According to a 2022 study by political scientist Danielle Gilbert, armed groups in Colombia engage in ransom kidnappings as a way to maintain the armed groups' local systems of taxation. The groups resort to ransom kidnappings to punish
tax evasion
Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the tax ...
and incentivize inhabitants not to shirk.
Netherlands
Article 282 prohibits hostaging (and 'kidnapping' is a kind of 'hostaging'). Part 1 of Article 282 allows sentencing kidnappers to maximum imprisonment of 8 years or a fine of the fifth category.
[€ 78,000] Part 2 allows maximum imprisonment of 9 years or a fine of the fifth category
if there are serious injuries. Part 3 allows maximum imprisonment of 12 years or a fine of the fifth category
if the victim has been killed. Part 4 allows sentencing people that collaborate with kidnapping (such as proposing or make available a location where the victim hostaged). Part 1, 2 and 3 will apply also to them.
United Kingdom
Kidnapping is an
offence under the common law of
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
. Lord Brandon said in 1984 ''R v D'':
In all cases of kidnapping of children, where it is alleged that a child has been kidnapped, it is the absence of the consent of that child which is material. This is the case regardless of the age of the child. A very small child will not have the understanding or intelligence to consent. This means that absence of consent will be a necessary inference from the age of the child. It is a question of fact for the jury whether an older child has sufficient understanding and intelligence to consent.
[''R v D'' ]984
Year 984 ( CMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Spring – German boy-king Otto III (4-years old) is seized by the deposed Henry II ...
AC 778, HL Lord Brandon said: "I should not expect a jury to find at all frequently that a child under fourteen had sufficient understanding and intelligence to give its consent." If the child (being capable of doing so) did consent to being taken or carried away, the fact that the person having custody or care and control of that child did not consent to that child being taken or carried away is immaterial. If, on the other hand, the child did not consent, the consent of the person having custody or care and control of the child may support a defence of lawful excuse.
It is known as
Gillick competence
Gillick competence is a term originating in England and Wales and is used in medical law to decide whether a child (a person under 16 years of age) is able to consent to their own medical treatment, without the need for parental permission or kn ...
.
Regarding restriction on prosecution, no prosecution may be instituted, except by or with the consent of the
Director of Public Prosecutions, for an offence of kidnapping if it was committed against a child under the age of sixteen and by a person connected with the child, within the meaning of section 1 of the
Child Abduction Act 1984
The Child Abduction Act 1984 (c 37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates offences that replace, in England and Wales, the offence of child stealing under section 56 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861.
Part I ...
. Kidnapping is an
indictable-only offence
In many common law jurisdictions (e.g. England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore), an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing ...
. Kidnapping is punishable with imprisonment or fine at the discretion of the court. There is no limit on the fine or the term of imprisonment that may be imposed provided the sentence is not inordinate.
A parent should only be prosecuted for kidnapping their own child "in exceptional cases, where the conduct of the parent concerned is so bad that an ordinary right-thinking person would immediately and without hesitation regard it as criminal in nature".
United States
Law in the United States follows from English common law. Following the highly publicized 1932
Lindbergh kidnapping
On March 1, 1932, Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr. (born June 22, 1930), the 20-month-old son of aviators Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was abducted from his crib in the upper floor of the Lindberghs' home, Highfields, in East Am ...
,
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
passed the
Federal Kidnapping Act
Following the historic Lindbergh kidnapping (the abduction and murder of Charles Lindbergh's toddler son), the United States Congress passed a federal kidnapping statute—known as the Federal Kidnapping Act, (a)(1) (popularly known as the Lindb ...
, which authorized the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
to investigate kidnapping at a time when the Bureau was expanding in size and authority. The fact that a kidnapped victim may have been taken across state lines brings the crime within the ambit of federal criminal law.
Most states recognize different types of kidnapping and punish according to such factors as the location, duration, method, manner and purpose of the offense. There are several deterrents to kidnapping in the United States of America. Among these are:
# The extreme logistical challenges involved in successfully exchanging the money for the return of the victim without being apprehended or surveilled.
# Harsh punishment. Convicted kidnappers face lengthy prison terms. If a victim is brought across state lines, federal charges can be laid as well.
# Good cooperation and information sharing between law enforcement agencies, and tools for spreading information to the public (such as the
AMBER Alert
An Amber Alert (alternatively styled AMBER alert) or a child abduction emergency alert ( SAME code: CAE) is a message distributed by a child abduction alert system to ask the public for help in finding abducted children. The system originated in ...
system).
One notorious failed example of kidnap for ransom was the 1976
Chowchilla bus kidnapping, in which 26 children were abducted with the intention of bringing in a $5 million ransom. The children and driver escaped from an underground van without the aid of law enforcement. According to the
Department of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
, kidnapping makes up 2% of all reported violent crimes against juveniles.
From the 1990s on, the
New York divorce coercion gang
The New York divorce coercion gang was a Haredi Jewish group that kidnapped, and in some cases tortured, Jewish men in the New York metropolitan area to force them to grant their wives ''gittin'' (religious divorces). The Federal Bureau of Invest ...
was involved in the kidnapping and torture of
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
husbands in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
for the purpose of forcing them to grant ''
gittin
Gittin (Hebrew: ) is a tractate of the Mishnah and the Talmud, and is part of the order of Nashim. The content of the tractate primarily deals with the legal provisions related to halakhic divorce, in particular, the laws relating to the ''Get'' ...
'' (religious divorces) to their wives. They were finally apprehended on October 9, 2013, in connection with a foiled kidnapping plot.
According to a ''2003 Domestic Violence Report in Colorado'', out of a survey of 189 incidents, most people (usually white females) are taken from their homes or residence by a present or former spouse or significant other. They are usually taken by force, not by weapon, and usually the victims are not injured when they are freed.
In 2009,
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...
reported over 300 cases of kidnapping, although subsequent investigation found that the Phoenix police falsified data. If true, this would have been the highest rate of any U.S. city and second in the world only to
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
.
A rise in kidnappings in the southwestern United States in general has been attributed to misclassification by local police, lack of a unified standard, desire for Federal grants, or the
Mexican Drug War.
In 2010, the United States was ranked sixth in the world (by absolute numbers, not per capita) for kidnapping for ransom, according to the available statistics (after Colombia, Italy, Lebanon, Peru, and the Philippines).
In 2009, the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' named
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...
,
as America's kidnapping capital, reporting that every year hundreds of ransom kidnappings occur there, virtually all within the underworld associated with human and drug smuggling from Mexico, and often done as a way of collecting unpaid debts. However, a later audit by the U.S. Department of Justice Inspector General found only 59 federally reportable kidnappings in 2008, compared to the over 300 claimed on grant applications.
During the year 1999 in the United States, 203,900 children were reported as the victims of family abductions and 58,200 of non-family abductions. However, only 115 were the result of "stereotypical" kidnaps (by someone unknown or of slight acquaintance to the child, held permanently or for ransom).
Statistics
Countries with the highest rates
![Kidnappers arrested Rio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Kidnappers_arrested_Rio.jpg)
Kidnapping for ransom is a common occurrence in various parts of the world today, and certain cities and countries are often described as the "Kidnapping Capital of the World". In 2018 the UN found Pakistan and England had the highest amount of kidnappings while New Zealand had the highest rate among the 70 countries for which data is available. As of 2007, that title belonged to
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
with possibly 1,500 foreigners kidnapped. In 2004, it was
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, and in 2001, it was
Colombia. Statistics are harder to come by. Reports suggest a world total of 12,500–25,500 per year with 3,600 per year in Colombia and 3,000 per year in Mexico around the year 2000. However, by 2016, the number of kidnappings in Colombia had declined to 205 and it continues to decline.
Mexican numbers are hard to confirm because of fears of police involvement in kidnapping. "Kidnapping seems to flourish particularly in fragile states and conflict countries, as politically motivated militias, organized crime and the drugs mafia fill the vacuum left by government".
Pirates
Kidnapping on the high seas in connection with
piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
has been increasing. It was reported that 661 crewmembers were taken hostage and 12 kidnapped in the first nine months of 2009. The IMB Piracy Reporting Centre recorded that 141 crew members were taken hostage and 83 were kidnapped in 2018.
See also
*
*
Child abduction
Child abduction or child theft is the unauthorized removal of a minor (a child under the age of legal adulthood) from the custody of the child's natural parents or legally appointed guardians.
The term ''child abduction'' includes two lega ...
*
Extraordinary rendition
Extraordinary rendition is a euphemism for state-sponsored forcible abduction in another jurisdiction and transfer to a third state. The phrase usually refers to a United States-led program used during the War on Terror, which had the purpos ...
*
Fetal abduction
Fetal abduction refers to the rare crime of child abduction by kidnapping of an at term pregnant woman and extraction of her fetus through a crude caesarean section, cesarean section. Dr. Michael H. Stone and Dr. Gary Brucato have alternatively r ...
*
Gooning
Gooning is a form of legal kidnapping in which parents hire rehabilitation organizations to seize children they perceive as troubled and transport them against their will to boot camps, behavior modification facilities, residential treatment ce ...
*
Forced disappearance
An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a State (polity), state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or po ...
*
Hostage
A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or refr ...
*
Human trafficking
*
Kidnap and ransom insurance
Kidnap and ransom insurance or K&R insurance is designed to protect individuals and corporations operating in high-risk areas around the world. Locations most often named in policies include Mexico, Venezuela, Haiti, and Nigeria, certain other coun ...
*
Kidnappings in Colombia
Kidnappings in Colombia refers to the practice of kidnapping in the Republic of Colombia. This criminal practice was first introduced in modern Colombian history during the early 1970s by the guerrilla movements and, later, also by criminal grou ...
*
List of kidnappings
*
Stockholm syndrome
References
Further reading
*
External links
"Snatched: Notorious Kidnappings"—slideshow by ''
Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...
'' magazine
{{Authority control
Common law offences in England and Wales
Violent crime
Crimes
Organized crime activity
Terrorism tactics