What is Kidnapping? Definition & Motivations

OVERVIEW

Kidnapping is an offense that is prevalent in every part of the world and has even been subject to being the main dilemma of fairytales, myths, legends, and other fictional tales. With that in mind, it’s, unfortunately, no wonder that kidnapping has spiked in severity as the decades have gone by. As a matter of fact, kidnappers and their targets may be incredibly diverse due to the nature of the offense itself. The impossible variety of motivations adds to the difficulty of understanding those who use kidnapping as a way to get what they want. In fact, in most cases, kidnapping is not the primary offense. Rape, obsession, murder, human trafficking, ransom, and other crimes may be involved, while kidnapping is used as a tactic to control the individual targeted. For the sake of this article, we will refer to kidnapping as the primary offense.

We understand that the following content may be sensitive for some readers. Please keep this in mind as you proceed. If you or a loved one is or has experienced human trafficking, if safe to do so, confide in someone you can trust or contact a hotline such as;

National Sexual Assault Hotline - 800.656.HOPE (4673)

National Domestic Violence Hotline - 800-799-7233 or text "START" to 88788

National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline - 988

National Human Trafficking Hotline - 1-888-373-7888, 711 (TTY), or text 233733

If in immediate danger, if possible, contact 911 or the local authority number in your area for assistance and further support.

WHAT IS KIDNAPPING?

Kidnapping, to put it simply, is the act of abducting another person against their will. It could be by physical force, or it may be done using more subtle methods of luring the other person to follow the kidnapper. Though manipulation is more typically seen in child kidnappers, like all offenses, extreme levels of coercion may be used to lure someone into a false sense of security. In fact, don’t let the term “kidnapping” fool you. It is very much a term used when referring to adults despite the implications. Though more drastic measures of coercion may be used to lure adults into following a kidnapper or potential kidnapper, it is still very much used. These methods are not limited to making a target believe the kidnapper needs help, posting or handing out false advertisements to lure potential victims, pretending to know/be family or friends, road blocking, and other methods of the like. As time has gone by, an unnerving amount of methods of coercion have been created by criminals, with some even going as far as using children to induce a sense of safety.

On other occasions, victims are physically restrained or drugged in order to subdue them. Once subdued or taken advantage of, kidnappers will usually take individuals somewhere they believe they won’t be found. In cases like this, another offense may be involved, such as stalking, rape, murder, ransom, and other offenses in which the offender may feel it’s required for the individual to be forcibly taken to a controlled area. In fact, ransom cases are especially common in kidnapping cases. Ransom is, by definition, the act of demanding a sum of money in exchange for the release of someone taken hostage. However, some kidnappers may refuse to safely release the individual kidnapped and may instead keep them or take their life (SPECIAL INVESTIGATION DIVISION KIDNAPPING GUIDELINES | Office of Justice Programs, 2023).

The main attribute for an offense to be considered a kidnapping case is the lack of victim consent. As with everything, an individual may agree to certain aspects of the situation, but that no longer counts if they change their mind. As mentioned above, kidnappers may coerce potential victims into a false sense of security, into an area where others can’t see, or may purposely leave out important information that is critical to the situation. From here, the individual will be subdued and forcibly taken to a controlled area where the kidnapper’s primary motivation will be enacted. The way a kidnapper chooses to abduct an individual and how they are treated is completely dependent on the motivation and intent (Abduction, Kidnapping and False Imprisonment: Definitions and Remedies (Including Domestic Dispute Child Kidnapping) | Stimmel Law, 2022).

MOTIVATIONS

The allusive nature of the offense makes it difficult to pin down even a few motivations, especially when considering the fact that kidnapping may be used as a tactic to subdue a victim rather than being a primary offense. When talking about kidnapping as a primary offense, this means the individual is constrained in an environment that the kidnapper(s) control where no other offenses are intended to occur. Motivations for situations like these could be ransom, keeping another from testifying in court, a parent trying to gain custody of their child (usually from an ex-spouse), and so on. In fact, in many cases, if an individual is restrained and confined to a certain point, it may be considered kidnapping due to the fact that the individual’s liberty was taken away and it was done against their will (Abduction, Kidnapping and False Imprisonment: Definitions and Remedies (Including Domestic Dispute Child Kidnapping) | Stimmel Law, 2022).

When the reason for kidnapping is directly influenced by a separate offense, hundreds of motivations are possible. In these cases, kidnapping would instead be used as a method to control and exert power over an individual. Due to, on most occasions, being taken to an area controlled by the kidnapper(s), the victim is taken advantage of, and it is here where the primary motivation is enacted. When the motivation is human trafficking, the individual may be abducted and taken across countries where they will be exploited for the kidnapper(s) benefit (Kidnapping, 2023). You can learn more about human trafficking in detail here.

CONCLUSION

Kidnapping is an allusive and complex offense in nature. The variety of reasons, motivations, and intent is one that matches none. With that in mind, it’s not surprising that the crime can have devastating effects on the individual abducted and their loved ones. However, with an increase in social media usage, awareness of the experiences of survivors and how to better protect yourself from kidnapping has increased as well. This is especially important when considering the fact that kidnapping rates have increased in recent years. Nevertheless, with this increase in knowledge, we can remain hopeful that abduction and kidnapping cases will soon, at the very least, become more documented.

REFERENCES

Abduction, Kidnapping and False Imprisonment: Definitions and Remedies (Including Domestic Dispute Child Kidnapping) | Stimmel Law. (2022). Stimmel-Law.com. https://www.stimmel-law.com/en/articles/abduction-kidnapping-and-false-imprisonment-definitions-and-remedies-including-domestic

Branka Vuleta. (2023, May 17). 30 Scary Kidnapping Statistics You Can’t Afford To Ignore. Legaljobs.io; LegalJobs. https://legaljobs.io/blog/kidnapping-statistics/#:~:text=In%202022%2C%20the%20FBI%20reported,were%20family%20and%20nonfamily%20abductions.

Kidnapping: A Brief Psychological Overview (From Understanding and Responding to the Terrorism Phenomenon: A Multi-Dimensional Perspective, P 231-241, 2007, Ozgur Nikbay and Suleyman Hancerli, eds. -- See NCJ-225118) | Office of Justice Programs. (2023). Ojp.gov. https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/kidnapping-brief-psychological-overview-understanding-and

Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2023, June 25). Merriam-Webster.com. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ransom

SPECIAL INVESTIGATION DIVISION KIDNAPPING GUIDELINES | Office of Justice Programs. (2023). Ojp.gov. https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/special-investigation-division-kidnapping-guidelines

kidnapping. (2023). LII / Legal Information Institute. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/kidnapping

to, A. (2013, July). Adjusting to life after being held hostage or kidnapped. Https://Www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/topics/trauma/hostage-kidnap#:~:text=Hostage%20and%20kidnap%20survivors%20can,and%20a%20sense%20of%20helplessness.&text=Freedom%20almost%20always%20brings%20a%20sense%20of%20elation%20and%20relief.