New OJJDP Bulletin on Kidnaping

[David Finkelhor <davidf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Kidnaping of Juveniles: Patterns From NIBRS ( OJJDP Bulletin). 2000. 8 pp.
                 NCJ 181161. FREE.

	A new analysis of FBI data suggests that three-quarters of the
             child kidnapings investigated by police involve family members
             and acquaintances. The surprise, according to the report, is the
             magnitude of the acquaintance kidnaping problem. 

             More than one-quarter of the kidnaped children were abducted
             by acquaintances, say David Finkelhor and Richard Ormrod, of
             the UNH Crimes Against Children Research Center. Their
             report, "Kidnaping of Juveniles: Patterns from NIBRS," was
             released this month by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of
             Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. 

             NIBRS is the National Incident-based Reporting System, a
             database which collects detailed information on crimes reported
             to police. Researchers say implementation of this new crime
             information system, which contains expanded information on
             kidnaping, provides an outstanding opportunity to learn more
             about the nature and extent of this crime. 

             "The media haven't given the public as clear a picture of
             acquaintance kidnaping as they have for strangers and family
             members," says Finkelhor, UNH professor of sociology. "But it
             is a serious part of the problem." 

             While ransom notes and the tragic recovery of bodies have
             molded the public's perception of the crime, in a strict legal
             sense, kidnaping occurs whenever a person is detained against
             his or her will. Kidnaping can be committed by babysitters,
             romantic partners and by parents who are involved in
             acrimonious custody battles. 

             The UNH study divides criminal kidnaping of juveniles into three
             broad categories and finds the following: kidnaping by a family
             member accounts for 49 percent of the incidents reported to
             police, kidnaping by an acquaintance (27 percent), and kidnaping
             by a stranger (24 percent). 

             The report describes acquaintance abductions as a combination
             of different crime scenarios. Some include teenage girls who are
             abducted by boyfriends or former boyfriends seeking revenge for
             rejection, trying to force reconciliation, or committing sexual
             assault. Other cases involve adolescents and teens abducted by
             acquaintances involved in gang activity who are trying to
             intimidate, retaliate, or even recruit them. Other incidents
involve
             family friends or employees, such as babysitters, who may
             remove children from their home to sexually assault them or
             retaliate against the family. 

             The report also notes the following: 

              While a serious problem, kidnaping makes up less than 2
             percent of the violent crimes against children known to police. 

              Most kidnaping of children, including stranger abduction, does
             not involve a weapon or result in injury or death to the victim. 

              Up to age 12, children are more likely to be kidnaped by a
             family member. If a juvenile is kidnaped after age 12, the
             perpetrator will be an acquaintance about 71 percent of the time.

             The full report "Kidnaping of Juveniles: Patterns from NIBRS" is
             available online at
             http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/pubs/missing.html#181161. 

David Finkelhor* Crimes against Children Research Center* Family
Research Laboratory* Department of Sociology* University of New
Hampshire* Durham, NH 03824*  Tel 603 862-2761* Fax 603 862-1122* email:
david.finkelhor@unh.edu

http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/
http://www.unh.edu/frl/