Introduction
Kidnapping can be defined as holding someone against his or her will, in order to get money in return. It is not something that one does not hear of or not familiar with. It is one of the things on which security apparatus of the USA is working on to overcome. Kidnapping may occur when an individual is not shifted to another area rather confined against his or her will in a certain space. It is one of the things which is prohibited by both the state and federal laws. It is a threat that reflects the breakdown in the mechanism of social control in the society (Morewitz, 2016). Although kidnapping is a crime which frequently receives a higher attention from media, it’s very rare that abduction is caused by a stranger. Courts have recognized this crime as a crime in which a person is confined to her or his house without an ability to leave. Most of the cases of kidnapping in the USA are related to parental kidnapping, where one of the parents kidnap his or her own child while in the proceedings of divorce. Other cases are related to adult kidnapping where one would kidnap an adult who is in possession of a property or competing for a high source.
Some of the states added an additional requirement that the perpetrator of the kidnapping act has a strong unlawful motive for the crime, that includes ransom or extortion, and to avoid an ongoing legal issue. Parental kidnapping is one of the issues of special concern in most of the states of USA since the parents are in ongoing divorce proceedings or child custody issue to take the child to another state without the permission of all the parties involved in the matter. In order to reduce this problem, many states of USA have now enacted statutes that will adopt (UCCJA) Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act and the (PKPA) Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act, which will provide guidance related to which state have jurisdiction over custodial disputes.
Statistics
According to the (NISMART) National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Thrownaway children report that shows that every year 2100 children reported missing in the USA, this means there has been child reported missing every 41 seconds. According to the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) missing person file, there are more than 88,040 active missing person, most of the missing persons are of age less than 18 years. Around 800 of NISMART reported cases, the child was not, in fact, missing those were cases of miscommunication.
It has been also estimated that on average 33 children were kidnapped by a nonfamily member. Before being released, most of these children were sexually assaulted. Over 150 kids per day were abducted by their parents. Runaways and thrownaways are reported over 1000 kids per day. Runaways and thrownaways pose the high challenge to the authorities as they have left their houses by their own will and it is likely to happen that they will be a prime target of Human traffickers (NISMART, 2018). There are three distinct type of kidnapping based on the identity of the perpetrator, Family kidnapping, kidnapping by a stranger and kidnapping by an acquaintance of the victim (Lampinen, 2017).
According to the report from Federal Bureau of Investigation 49% of cases of kidnapping associated with Family Kidnapping, 27% of the cases related to Acquaintance kidnapping and 24% are kidnapping by a stranger (Parental Kidnapping, 2018). In 80% of kidnappings by a stranger, the first interaction between the kidnapper and the victim occurs within a quarter mile radius of victim’s house. About 70% of the abduction of nonfamily kidnapping are females. High potential kidnappers grab their victims from the street and lure them into their vehicle. Family kidnapping involves a high percentage of perpetrators (Mostly Females) than any other types of kidnapping, the victim in these cases are small kids age of fewer than 6 years. These types of criminal acts mostly originate at home.
Strain Theory
Strain theory of sociology is a theory that best explains the occurrence of kidnapping. Poverty and unemployment are two of the main causes of being involved in this act of violence. A theory explains people commit the crime, in order to get relief from their stress. Stress could be related to financial problems or could be related to not being accepted in the society. A theory explains people can indulge in violent activities to get a revenge from those who have wronged them. Most of the times to get relief from the frustration people commit the crime. For some people, it is the best solution top release your stress.
Robert Agnew Strain Theory 1992
According to the Robert Agnew’s 1992 Strain theory, there are two main categories of strain that contributes to crime. One is the category where others prevent you from achieving your goals and other are those who took things that are valuable to you. Starin may appear to form the result of not achieving your goal. It has been explained by Agnew that three goals specifically when not achieved by a person indulge him or her into criminal activities. That three goasl are money, status, and respect (Slocum & Agnew, 2017). Money is one of the central goals in the USA. All people in the USA are putting their best efforts to make a lot of money. Money is necessary for buying luxurious things.
For poor people, it is very hard to make a lot of money by working hard. This creates strain which haunts them continuously. So they try to find a way from where they could make a lot of money within days or so. Many criminals said that they engaged in these activities to get money which they were unable to find it through a right way. Circumstances and strainful events make one feel bad, this ultimately results in creating pressure to take corrective actions. It is true for Anger and Frustration which triggers one to create the desire for revenge.
Interventions
There are multiple interventions to cater the kidnapping issue. For family child abduction, one should respect the other parent’s visitation and custodial rights and should attempt to maintain and build a healthy friendly relationship with your spouse. This will help to reduce the highest percentage involved in kidnapping to a lower level.
Job Creation
Creating jobs for the citizens of every country, most importantly the youth will help to reduce the level of crime and promote to fight against it. When people are gainfully employed they will no longer need to commit crimes. As unemployment is one of the key factors for committing kidnapping.
Serious Punishment
When the government treats harshly whoever involved in the crime, it is more likely to happen that crime rate will start declining. The mild punishment only encourages the criminal.
Treatment in Prison
There should be a council, that is composed of psychologists, which will counsel those who are in prison and serving their sentence for kidnapping crime. Counseling will resolve all the mental issues they have regarding stress or anything. Counseling will help them become a better person and will help them to not to indulge in such crimes again.mostly the reason behind committing this crime is related to financial instability, poor people do not get enough money that will feed their family and they take wrong paths to make a lot of money.
Conclusion
Kidnapping is one of the serious problems faced by the State and the federal government. Most of the cases of kidnapping are related to parental kidnapping, as mentioned previously 49%. Although the government is taking serious measure to get rid of this situation it is not entirely possible to eliminate it 100% from the society. By creating job opportunities and giving serious punishments to the kidnappers will result in the reduction of this crime.
References
Lampinen, J. M. (2017). Missing and Exploited Children. The Encyclopedia of Juvenile Delinquency and Justice.
Morewitz, S. J. (2016). Kidnapping and Violence: New Research and Clinical Perspectives. Springer Verlag.
Parental Kidnappings. (2018). Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 27 March 2018, from https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/parental-kidnappings.
PDF23A – National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children. (2018). Betamk.missingkids.org. Retrieved 27 March 2018, from http://betamk.missingkids.org/publications/PDF23a.
Slocum, L. A., & Agnew, R. (2017). Strain Theory, Violence, and Aggression. The Wiley Handbook of Violence and Aggression.
