Kidnaping of Juveniles: Patterns From NIBRS

Abstract

The kidnaping of a child is a crime that tears at the fabric of society. Until recently, the nature and scope of the problem have been unclear because existing crime data collection systemssuch as the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) system and OJJDP's National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children-do not collect law enforcement data on kidnaping. Fortunately, that is about to change. In partnership with the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the FBI is supplanting the UCR with the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). This will enhance our understanding of youth abduction and create a comprehensive picture of kidnaping offenses. This Bulletin describes the offense of kidnaping of juveniles, using 1997 NIBRS data. Among other significant findings, the analysis reveals that such abductions are relatively uncommon, that there are three distinct kinds of perpetrators, and that the rate of juvenile kidnaping peaks in the afternoon. The better we understand this serious crime, the more effective our efforts will be to prevent and respond to it. NIBRS promises to be an important tool in that process.

The nature and influence of the victim-offender relationship in kidnapping incidents

“…Legal definitions of kidnapping, however, are not limited to crimes perpetrated by strangers against children and do not require that the victim be transported or even detained for a lengthy period of time. 1 Indeed, descriptive studies on juvenile kidnappings confirm that many incidents differ considerably from the sensationalized cases represented in the media and frequently involve family member and acquaintance perpetrators (Finkelhor, Hammer, & Sedlak, 2002;Finkelhor & Ormrod, 2000;Finkelhor & Shattuck, 2012;Finkelhor et al, 1992).…”

“…Limited research coupled with intense media coverage of select and often atypical incidents contributes to misconceptions about the nature of kidnapping in the United States (Boudreaux, Lord, & Etter, 2000;Finkelhor, Hotaling, & Sedlak, 1992;Finkelhor & Ormrod, 2000;Miller, Kurlycheck, Hansen, & Wilson, 2008). In the stereotypical case, kidnapping is perpetrated by a stranger who transports a victim -usually a child -to a different location for a considerable length of time (Finkelhor et al, 1992).…”

“…The first systematic attempt to collect data on kidnapping cases in the U.S. was done through the National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrown-away Children (NISMART) in 1988 (Finkelhor, Hotaling, & Sedlak, 1990a). 2 Though informative, researchers have raised several concerns about these data, including their inability to capture information about multiple crimes in a single case, or cooccurring crimes (Finkelhor & Ormrod, 2000;Shutt, Miller, Schreck, & Brown, 2004). Further, NISMART only includes information on nonfamilial kidnappings of children.…”

“…Further, NISMART only includes information on nonfamilial kidnappings of children. Researchers, therefore, have argued that the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data are better suited for studying kidnapping in the U.S. (Finkelhor & Ormrod, 2000;Shutt et al, 2004). NIBRS data summarize official police reports and capture information about multiple crimes, victims, and offenders within a single incident, including more detailed information about the victim-offender relationship (see Maxfield, 1999).…”

Secondary Victimizations in Missing Child Events

“…This finding is far from certain, though. Girls, for example, have been found to have a higher likelihood of experiencing several forms of missing event, notably running away (Sanchez et al 2006), and non-family abductions (which, as argued above, might well be the most dangerous of the missing events) (Finkelhor and Ormrod 2000). Other research, however, has found that the proportion of runaways who are male and female is more or less equal .…”