Solo and Multi-Offenders Who Commit Stranger Kidnapping: An Assessment of Factors That Correlate With Violent Events

Abstract

Research has demonstrated that co-offending dyads and groups often use more violence than individual offenders. Despite the attention given to co-offending by the research community, kidnapping remains understudied. Stranger kidnappings are more likely than non-stranger kidnappings to involve the use of a weapon. Public fear of stranger kidnapping warrants further examination of this specific crime, including differences between those committed by solo and multi-offender groups. The current study uses National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data to assess differences in use of violence among 4,912 stranger kidnappings by solo offenders and multi-offender groups using cross-tabulations, ordinal regression, and logistic regression. The results indicate that violent factors are significantly more common in multi-offender incidents, and that multi-offender groups have fewer arrests than solo offenders. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Co-Offending and Arrest: An Examination of the “Group Hazard” Hypothesis

“…Tillyer and Tillyer (2015), for example, examined robbery and found that offenses committed by groups were more likely than offenses committed by solo offenders to result in arrest. Cunningham and Vandiver (2016) focused on stranger kidnappings and found that incidents committed by groups had fewer arrests than incidents committed by solo offenders. Even Erickson’s (1973) research on the group hazard suggested variation by offense type, although not explicitly.…”

“…), knife or cutting instrument, blunt object, motor vehicle, poison, explosives, and/or incendiary devices. Following Cunningham and Vandiver (2016), incidents that include the use of "body parts" as a weapon were coded as not involving a weapon because it can be assumed that all offenders have these potential weapons, and coding them as weapons would skew the data positively regarding the prevalence of weapon use. 9.…”

The Consequences of Crime in Company: Co-Offending, Victim–Offender Relationship, and Quality of Violence

“…The application of this collective behavior research to co-offending has been limited (e.g., McGloin & Rowan, 2015; McGloin & Thomas, 2018); researchers have applied the perspective to kidnappings (Cunningham & Vandiver, 2016), gangs (Battin, Hill, Abbott, Catalano, & Hawkins, 1998), and riots (Granovetter, 1978). But, these processes are not exclusive to such scenarios (Warr, 2002).…”

Hate Crime Victimization and Weapon Use

“…Second, weapon use is coded as a dichotomous measure indicating whether any weapon, including an automatic weapon, handgun, rifle, shotgun, other firearm, knife or cutting instrument, blunt object, motor vehicle, poison, explosive, and incendiary device, was used in the course of an incident. Following prior research, other incidents, including those involving hands and feet, are coded as not involving a weapon (Cunningham & Vandiver, 2018). Because of the nature of the analyses, weapon is used as both a dependent and independent measure.…”