How To Avoid Kidnapping ?

You are in danger at any place and at any time. Thus, it is necessary to exercise safety everywhere you go and even at your home. Here are some of the ways in which you can exercise safety and can avoid being kidnapped: Tips on How To Avoid Kidnapping ?:
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Take different routes at different times from home to work and vice-versa. Make sure that all the members of your family practice this, especially children. Make changes in your routine in such a way that you go unnoticed by the perpetrator. Avoid wearing expensive accessories (jewelry) that would reflect your wealth and identify you as a person from a rich family or an employee of a wealthy company. Avoid traveling alone, safety comes with numbers. If you use public transportation, be extremely careful. Drive in cabs of reliable companies. Note down the license plate number of the taxi. If you use a private car, make sure that your car is in a good condition and the fuel tank is at least half full. Chauffer driven car is the best option. If you experience an erratic behavior from a stranger, seek to a safer place, an environment that is crowded like a store or a bank that is around. Do not open doors until you know who is on the other side. It is advisable to exercise more safety if you are alone at the house. Keep all your personal items safe and secure. Take special care about your money, travel documents, passports, identity cards and laptops. Keep your personal and business related information in safe place.

World Kidnapping Statistics

In the United States, a child is abducted every 40 seconds as per the statistics presented by the United States Missing Children. Children of the age group 4 to 11 years are half the number of the total reported abductions. Almost 500,000 kidnappings go unreported. Data from FBIs National Crime Information Centre show that the total number of the persons missing has risen by 468 percent from 1982 to 2000, and there has been a 100 percent increase in the last six years.

Here are some of the statistics on world kidnapping:

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Each year more than 30,000 kidnappings take place worldwide. This is the reported number of the kidnappings. Haiti ranks first in the ten riskiest places in the world that experiences the most number of kidnappings, while Mexico stands second. Over 55 percent of the total kidnaps take place in Latin America.

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There is an increase in the number of kidnaps every year. According to the statistics there has been tremendous increase of almost more than 100 percent in the number of people missing every year. There is an increase in the average ransom payments every year. The average ransom ranges in between $500 to $100 million. Almost 70 percent of the total numbers of kidnappings that take place worldwide get resolved by paying the ransom amount. The number of victims who get rescued is almost 10 percent of the total About 21 percent of the victims are left without ransom as the abductors/perpetrators feel that no ransom will be paid for their release.

Effects Of Kidnapping
Kidnapping is keeping a person in confinement, against his or her wishes, for ransom. More generally, kidnapping is keeping a person in false imprisonment, which means keeping in captivity without having any authority to do so. Kidnapping is carried out for different purposes, including monetary gain, gaining custody etc.It is a very traumatic experience for the victim and can lead to adverse psychological effects. Effects of Kidnapping on Victims:
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Trauma - The trauma caused by the experience of confinement and apparent danger can lead to the victim developing insecurities and phobias. Stockholm Syndrome - Sometimes victims start showing signs of loyalty towards the kidnappers as a psychological response to the situation. Sometimes, victims even defend the actions of the kidnappers even after being freed.

Effects of Kidnapping on Kidnappers:

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Lima syndrome - If the kidnappers keep their victims in captivity for a prolonged period of time, they start becoming sympathetic towards their victims. This is almost the exact opposite of Stockholm Syndrome. Out of sympathy, the kidnappers start giving in to the victim's needs. Effects of kidnapping can vary from person to person. Children may be more susceptible to psychological disorders as a consequence of captivity. The duration of captivity and also the conditions under which the victim is kept determines what effect it will have. The kidnappers also may get affected by the victims. Mutual sympathy may be an effect of kidnapping especially when the victim and perpetrator are in each other's presence for long; this happens when imprisonment is long.

Definition Of Kidnapping
Kidnapping is the act of taking away or detaining a person without his/her consent or will and this is done by fraud or force. The kidnapped person is kept in a confined room or a false imprisonment (intentionally detaining the victim).
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Kidnapping is generally done for ransom. In common law, kidnapping includes: taking away a minor, without his/her consent, without any lawful excuse. In recent years, kidnapping done by partners and parents (in association with child custody) accounts for more number of kidnapping cases than kidnapping by strangers. There are primarily three types of kidnapping depending upon who the kidnapper is: Family Kidnapping: Kidnapping by a family member or a relative is called family kidnapping. This kind of kidnapping amounts to 49 percent of the total. This is generally committed by parents and includes mostly female kidnappers. This is most frequent among children of age group 0-6 years, however, both minor boys and minor girls are victims equally. This type of kidnapping originates at home generally. Acquaintance Kidnapping: This type of kidnapping is mostly done by people whom you know, neither strangers nor family members. This type of kidnapping affects either females or teenagers. Acquainted kidnapping is generally associated with physical and sexual assault and has recorded the maximum number of injured victims. Stranger Kidnapping: This type of kidnapping is done at outdoors. Usually females are victims of stranger kidnapping more than men. Stranger kidnapping is invariably connected with sexual assault (girls) and robberies (boys). It generally involves the usage of a firearm.