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 their behalf. The second crime could be anything from

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

, to planting a

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...

. A person or item held

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 ref ...

is kept by the captors until their demands are met. The goal of the captors is to have their risky/dirty work performed by another person. The victims of a crime like this are less likely to report to authorities since they just committed a crime themselves.

Origins

The practice began as a twist on a tactic used by the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief tha ...

, which kidnapped people in order to coerce others into placing

car bombs A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roughly divided ...

.IRELAND -The Latest 'Tiger Kidnapping' TrendOffNews.info
Accessed March 2, 2009. The first recorded crime that can be described as a tiger kidnapping occurred in 1972, but the term was coined in the 1980s and gained more widespread use in the following decade. Since tiger kidnapping is technically two crimes committed in tandem, statistics regarding their occurrence are difficult to compile. Tiger kidnappings have occurred in several jurisdictions, but are more common in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Examples include the Northern Bank robbery and Bank of Ireland robbery.7 arrested after Irish bank heist
''

International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France for international English-speaking readers. It had the aim of becoming "the world's first global newspaper" and could fairly be said ...

''. Published March 1, 2009. According to ''

'', tiger kidnappings "have become common in Ireland, a close-knit society where criminals can closely track their targets" and "they have typically involved thefts below €1 million." After the 2009 Bank of Ireland robbery, Charlie Flanagan, a member of the Irish Parliament, remarked that “tiger kidnappings are taking place in Ireland... at a rate of almost one per week.”Robert Mackey
7 Arrests After Ireland’s Biggest Bank Heist
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Published February 28, 2009.

Countermeasures

Businesses can take several steps to guard against these such as mandating that two or more people must work in tandem in order to open sensitive areas such as bank vaults and cash boxes.

In popular culture

The movies '' Cash on Demand'', '' Nick of Time'', '' Bandits'', ''

Firewall Firewall may refer to: * Firewall (computing), a technological barrier designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted communications between computer networks or hosts * Firewall (construction), a barrier inside a building, designed to limit the spr ...

'', ''

Intermission An intermission, also known as an interval in British and Indian English, is a recess between parts of a performance or production, such as for a theatrical play, opera, concert, or film screening. It should not be confused with an entr'acte ( ...

'' and ''

Waist Deep ''Waist Deep'' is a 2006 American action drama film directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall and starring Tyrese Gibson and Meagan Good. Plot Ex-con Otis Samuel Sr. or "O2" on account of his ability to vanish from a crime scene like oxygen, has done his ...

'' dramatize tiger kidnappings. The video game '' Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Justice for All'' features a tiger kidnapping as a plot point in its final case. A tiger kidnapping is also carried out in Season 4 of '' Love/Hate''. The series '' Happy Valley'' features a kidnapping that is falsely described as a tiger kidnapping by Sergeant Cawood.

References

{{reflist Robbery Kidnapping

Origins

Countermeasures

In popular culture

See also

References