Kidnapping Laws
Kidnapping is a very serious offense that can lead to very long prison terms. Sometimes people are taking against their will by someone they don’t know but most of the time it is someone that they do know. It can even be a parent that doesn’t legally have the custody to take them. Kidnapping becomes even more serious when there is a ransom to try to get money for the exchange of the individual.
Kidnapping laws become a federal issue when a person is taken across state lines or into another country. The penalties for it depend on what all crimes have been committed. If a gun or other type of deadly weapon is used in conjunction with the kidnapping it escalates things to another level.
There is too much to lose for a kidnapper though with the way many of the laws are written. Therefore law enforcement has to be ready to fight to the end. Most of them aren’t going to give up their victim without a fight. They know the laws all too well and they are going to do all they can to escape the law.
One of the best laws out there that relates to kidnapping is the Amber Alert. This particular law allows the message to get out nationwide about children under 18 that have been abducted. The information will be posted on sites online, flashed on all TV channels, law enforcement agencies will have the information immediately, and even message boards on main roadways will be broadcasting the information.
The purpose of the Amber Alert is to try to get the child found as quickly as possible before they can be harmed. The program has been very successful but some critics wonder if this particular kidnapping law isn’t going to encourage criminals to dispose of the body of the child immediately.
The laws that pertain to kidnapping are different by each state. They also very by country. You can be sure many individuals that are involved in such issues have been paying close attention to such laws. For example some states don’t classify it as kidnapping when one of the parents is the party involved. Others don’t care what the relationship is if the custody order has been broken.
Kidnapping Ransom
One of the key motivators for kidnapping has to do with money. If the person is still alive there will likely be a ransom demand for money. This can be a note left at the scene or it can be a phone call that comes in later. The amount of the ransom as well as the specifics of it depend on who is asking for it. Sometimes they want unmarked bills placed in a specific location.
The ransom plan may be very detailed and planned out in order to give them the best chances of success. The FBI is generally called in to investigate kidnapping cases, especially when a ransom is the possible motive. They are able to come up with clues from the scene and even a profile of who the kidnapper may be. They will come up with their own plans to get the person back safely without letting the criminals get away.
When it comes to kidnapping someone for money, most of us that don’t have much of it don’t have to worry. This is often an issue that affects wealthy and powerful individuals. Political figures may be kidnapped as well depending on the situation. Large sums of money are generally requested when it comes to kidnapping though. The risk of getting caught and spending years in jail is too great to walk away without something substantial.
Not all kidnappings for a ransom have a happy ending though. One of the most famous cases what that involving the infant son of Charles Lindberg. The ransom note asked for $50,000 in specific bills. There were no fingerprints to be found on the note. Even though the Lingberg’s wanted to corporate, the kidnappers never told them where to live the money. Almost three month’s later the remains of the baby were found in a desolate area.
The unsolved murder of Jon Benet Ramsey continues to be a cold case. On Christmas Eve she was found dead in the home. Yet there was a ransom note found on the stairs that had the amount of a bonus her father had received from work earlier in the week. There was speculation that the mother had written it but it was never proven. Her murder has never been solved but since she was found dead in their home it wasn’t really a kidnapping. It may have been one in progress when the girl was accidentally killed.
Kidnapping
Kidnapping is the term applied to the taking of people against their will. While is mainly applies to children that are underage, the term has become used for people of all ages that find themselves involved in such circumstances. Sometimes it is hard to prove if a kidnapping has taken place or not. Most law enforcement agencies will make you wait 24 hours before you can file a report. It is even harder with people that aren’t minors because they could just be away and not have told anyone.
There are several different reasons why someone can become a victim of a kidnapping. It may be for monetary gain. The kidnappers will send a ransom note or call in order to make their demands clear. Others are taken randomly because the criminal wants to molest or rape them. They can’t do this out in the open so they take the person to an undisclosed location.
A person may kidnap an infant or a young child because they aren’t able to have one of their own. They may go as far as to fake a pregnancy in order to make the story more believable. There are often mental health issues here and the good news is these children aren’t in harm. They are very well cared for but that still doesn’t make the fact that they were kidnapped acceptable.
Many kidnappings are at the hands of parents or relatives that want the child to be in a different environment. Custody issues are very common when it comes to the area of kidnapping. Some states take this issue very seriously while others don’t. It really depends on the laws that are in place. This will also be what determines if it remains a state issue or if it escalates to a federal issue.
With various programs in place, many kidnapping victims are returned safely. Thousands of others remain missing though. You see their faces on milk cartoons and on fliers in the mail. It is a good idea to take a close look at these faces because you never know when you could help to identify someone that has been taken. Sometimes these children are missing for years before they are reunited with their real families.
International Kidnapping
International kidnapping often is the result of one parent running off with the children to keep them from the other one. Sometimes it is their country of origin but in the majority of cases it is a country with very lax laws regarding the issue of kidnapping. In these countries the agreement that was in place can’t be enforced. As a result the parent is free to roam around in that country and go about a normal life.
The situation is very different for the parent that has lost their children. They may spend years and tons of money trying to track down their children. Many documentaries that show the struggles they go through are heartbreaking. Even if they do locate where the other parent and their children are, there is often nothing they can do legally.
Some have taken matters into their own hands. They work with underground operations designed to help them steal their children back. These efforts can easily be tipped off though and they may be unsuccessful. Even if they do succeed in getting their children, they always have to be looking over their shoulder. They never know when the other parent will try to take them once again.
The United States continues to try to get other countries to recognize the problems that occur with International kidnappings. Even though they may want to help out, they really can’t enforce the laws here based on how their own laws are written. The loopholes don’t mean that other countries don’t recognize the problem for what it really is.
Those that do involve themselves in International kidnapping face severe penalties if they do step foot back into the United States. It is a federal crime to take children out of the country with the intent of violating custody orders. The lines become hazy though if no clear custody guidelines are in place. For example if a couple is separated but they don’t have any formal agreement between them.
Many courts agree that this is just a technicality though and not something that should get them off the hook. It also serves as a reminder to all parents in such a predicament to have a written custody agreement in place between them.
Kidnapping Statistics
We often hear about various kidnappings that take place via the news or the internet. It can make you wonder just what the statistics are though relating to this issue. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, more than 2,000 children are kidnapped each day. Obviously then we are only hearing about a few of the more high profile cases.
The reason for this is that the majority of kidnapping cases involve parents of the children. More than 200,000 of them each year fall into this category. The remaining 60,000 are abducted by non family members. Only 57% of stranger abductions result in the children being found alive. This is a statistic that all of us need to fight to improve upon. Laws such as the Amber Alert help everyone to take notice of the situation immediately.
Kidnapping isn’t just a situation that happens in the United States. It is one that takes place in many countries with the highest statistics being in Mexico and Africa. It is believed many children in Mexico are actually kidnapped and then sold as slaves, for sex, and even as young brides.
In order to help reduce kidnapping statistics, parents need to be very careful with their children. Make sure you can always see them in a public place. It only takes turning away for a moment for them to disappear. Make sure your children understand not to go with anyone without your approval. Have a code word in place that someone has to tell them before it is acceptable to leave with them. This takes care of the issue of someone telling them you gave them permission to pick up your child.
People are very used to screaming and crying children so they don’t get much attention. Teach your child to fight back and to let people around know what is going on. They need to be able to say that they don’t know the person or that they are being abducted. This way other people will step in to help. They need to struggle to remain in a public location as once the kidnapper gets them into an isolated location the chances of them being found greatly diminish.