Kidnapping

Kidnapping is the unlawful act of seizing and taking away an individual without his or her consent with the use of force, violence, threat, or fraud and detaining him or her forcibly against his or her will. The word kidnap, a combination of “kid,” slang for child, and “nap, or nab,” to steal, was first used in the late 16th century to refer to the stealing and carrying away of children and other persons for the purpose of selling them into slavery.

The term abduction is often used as a synonym for kidnapping; however, abduction may refer to a separate crime in some jurisdictions. In this sense, the term abduction is used in a specific manner and focuses on the unlawful removal, concealment, or detention of a person, generally a child or a female, by means of force or deceit from those having lawful custody over that person. That is, while kidnapping involves the unlawful seizure or detention of an individual against his or her will, abduction refers to the illegal taking away of a child from his or her legal guardian(s).

Although the term kidnapping first appeared in the late 16th century, the practice of kidnapping is as old as human history. The earliest written texts are full of stories regarding persons and groups taken away by force and sold into slavery or exchanged for ransom. Since the early years of recorded history, the practice of kidnapping has continued to be carried out and has diversified in terms of methods used, motives, scope, and profiles of people involved.

Kidnapping is a serious crime not only because it is punishable by life in prison or the death penalty but because it carries the risk of committing further crimes. For instance, a male perpetrator may take away a female victim by force, rape her, and then kill her, thereby committing a series of crimes. Kidnapping may be considered a gateway crime that sets the stage for further violent crimes. Kidnapping is also, of course, indicative of deviant behavior. The crime itself is a deviant behavior and may be indicative of other deviances. For example, a pedophile or rapist is more prone to commit kidnapping to satisfy his lust.

Kidnappers have many motives for committing their crimes. These motives may include making money (e.g., taking ransom and selling victims for sex, forced labor, or organ smuggling); satisfying sexual desires (e.g., rape, child molestation); serving political, religious, or ideological causes; taking revenge; obtaining illegal guardianship of a child; and so on. Kidnapping cases, mostly for financial and political reasons, have become a growing concern in certain parts of the world, especially in unstable regions of Latin America and the Middle East. On the other hand, apart from individual perpetrators, organized crime groups and terror organizations have frequently employed kidnappings to arrive at their objectives.