Kidnapping
Kidnapping is the illegal relocation and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by fraud or deception. Kidnapping is distinguished from false imprisonment by the intentional movement of the victim to a different location.
Kidnapping may be done to demand a ransom in exchange for releasing the victim, or for other illegal purposes. Kidnapping can be accompanied by bodily injury, which in some jurisdictions elevates the crime to aggravated kidnapping.
Kidnapping of a child may be a distinct crime, depending on jurisdiction.
Motives
Kidnapping can occur for a variety of reasons, with motivations for the crime varying particularly based on the perpetrator.Ransom
The kidnapping of a person, most often an adult, for ransom is a common motivation behind kidnapping. This method is primarily utilized by larger organizations, such as criminal gangs, terrorist organizations, or insurgent groups. Typically this is done for financial incentive, with sums of money varying depending on the victim or the method of kidnapping.Mexican gangs are estimated to have made up to $250 million in kidnappings from Central American migrants.
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 and incentivize inhabitants not to shirk. A 2024 study argued that insurgent groups are more likely to engage in kidnappings "under two conditions: to generate support and reinstate bargaining capacity when organizations suffer military losses on the battlefield and to enforce loyalties and display strength when organizations face violent competition from other non-state actors."
Kidnapping has been identified as one source by which terrorist organizations have been known to obtain funding.
Express kidnapping is a method of abduction used in some countries, mainly from Latin America, where a small ransom, that a company or family can easily pay, is demanded. Express kidnapping is also used for an immediate ransom in which the victim is taken to an ATM and forced to give the captor money.
Tiger kidnapping occurs when a person is kidnapped, and the captor forces them to commit a crime such as robbery or murder. The victim is held hostage until the captor's demands are met. The term originates from the usually long preceding observation, like a tiger does when stalking prey. This is a method which has been used by the Real Irish Republican Army and the Continuity Irish Republican Army.
Virtual kidnapping is a unique form of kidnapping that has risen in recent years. Unlike previous forms of kidnapping, virtual kidnapping does not actually involve a victim of any kind. The scam involves a process of calling numerous people on the phone and making them believe the caller has a victim's loved one, such as a child, in order to gain a quick ransom from the victim. Previously these calls used to affect Spanish speaking communities in large cities, such as Los Angeles or Houston. Until around 2015 when the calls started to be directed to English speakers as well. Around 80 victims were identified as falling for this scam, with losses ranging close to $100,000. While most perpetrators behind this scam can be linked back to Mexico, one instance occurred in Houston, Texas. Yanette Rodriguez Acosta was found guilty of accosting victims for large sums of money, which she would pick up at a set drop off of point. She was sentenced to seven years in prison, with an additional three years of supervision following her release.
In the past, and presently in some parts of the world, kidnapping is a common means used to obtain slaves and money through ransom. In the 19th century, kidnapping in the form of shanghaiing men supplied merchant ships with sailors, whom the law considered unfree labour.
Pirates
Kidnapping on the high seas in connection with piracy 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.Other
Other motivations behind kidnapping include the kidnap of a person for sexual assault purposes, or situations of domestic violence. For example, the 2003 Domestic Violence Report in Colorado shows in most instances of domestic violence people, most typically white females, will be taken from their residence by a present or former spouse or significant other. Often they will be taken by force, not with a weapon, and victims will be freed without injury to their person.Bride kidnapping 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 nomadic peoples of Central Asia. It has seen a resurgence in Kyrgyzstan since the fall of the Soviet Union and the subsequent erosion of women's rights.
Kidnapping has sometimes been used by the family and friends of a cult member as a method to remove them from the cult and begin a deprogramming process to change their allegiance away from the group.
Motivations for kidnapping cannot always be easily defined. During the 1990s and afterward, for example, the New York divorce coercion gang was involved in a sting of kidnappings. They would take Jewish husbands from their homes in New York and New Jersey and torture them in order for them to grant gittin, or religious divorces, to their wives. The gang is notorious for crimes of this nature. They were later apprehended for their crimes on 9 October 2013, in connection with a foiled kidnapping plot.
By jurisdiction
Jurisdiction of kidnapping varies depending on the country, with each one having their own way of defining and prosecuting the crime. Some such countries with clearly defined laws on kidnapping include: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 25 years' imprisonment.Canada
Kidnapping that does not result in a homicide is a hybrid offence that comes with a maximum possible penalty of life imprisonment. A murder that results from kidnapping is classified as 1st-degree, with a sentence of life imprisonment that results from conviction.Mexico
The General Law to Prevent and Punish Crimes of Kidnapping establishes a prison sentence of 20–40 years for an individual convicted of holding another person as a hostage. The prison term increases to 25–45 years if the kidnapping occurred with violence against the victims, and then increases to 25–50 years if the kidnapping was committed by members of public safety. If the kidnapping results in homicide, the prison sentence will be from 40 to 70 years.Pakistan
In Pakistan, there are two kinds of kidnapping: Kidnapping from Pakistan and kidnapping from lawful guardianship. Penal Code 360 states that whoever conveys any person beyond the limits of Pakistan without the consent of that person or of some person legally authorized to consent on behalf of that person is said to kidnap that person from Pakistan. Penal Code 363 states that whoever kidnaps any person from Pakistan or lawful guardianship shall be punished with imprisonment of either description of a term which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to a fine. Kidnapping with a motive of murder, hurt, slavery, or to the lust of any person shall be punished with imprisonment for life with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to a fine.Netherlands
Article 282 prohibits hostaging. Part 1 of Article 282 allows sentencing kidnappers to maximum imprisonment of eight years or a fine of the fifth category. Part 2 allows maximum imprisonment of nine 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. Part 1, 2 and 3 will apply also to them.England and Wales
Kidnapping is an offence under the common law of England and Wales. 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. 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 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.
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. Kidnapping is an indictable-only offence. 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".