According to the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children, over 2,000 children are reported every day. This adds up to almost 800,000 reported cases of missing children (Falcon, G., 2007). With figures like these, in conjunction with the constant flow of news stories depicting kidnapping victims from all walks of life and from every corner of the country it appears that no one is safe from the possibility of becoming a kidnap victim. Kidnapping is a difficult phenomenon to study because the statistics are intimidating and the news coverage is vast, and yet according to Carolyn Ann Vlk, Peter Thomas Senese, and Joel S. Walter “the truth of the matter is that we really do not know how accurate any of the data is or how large of a problem we actually have on our hands” (Senese, P. T., & Vlk, C. A., 2013). In an effort to better understand kidnapping, we will first define kidnapping, as well as subtypes of kidnapping, using the New York State Penal code, as well as Federal laws. Next, we will discuss the trends in kidnapping, and finally we will discuss some of the most notorious kidnapping cases.
The legal definition of kidnapping varies based on jurisdiction. The New York State Penal Code includes first, and second degree kidnapping. First-degree kidnapping, according to § 135.25, occurs when a person physically restrains, holds captive, or moves another person without their consent: i.) with the intent to collect ransom; ii.) longer than twelve hours, and with the intent to injure the person; iii.) in an effort to commit another felony (i.e. taking hostages to rob a bank); IV.) to scare the victim or a third party; V.) “to interfere with a governmental or political function” (kidnapping, 2008); VI.) and when the abducti...
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...SIS IN AMERICA International Parental Child Abduction Today – 2013. stopchildabduction. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from http://stopchildabduction.org/Abduction_Rate_Drops_15_.html
Shocking Statistics about Child Abduction in the USA – Infographic | Graphs, Infographics. (n.d.). Graphs Infographics. Retrieved November 12, 2013, from http://graphs.net/201306/shocking-statistics-about-child-abduction-in-the-usa.html
The Lindbergh Kidnapping. (2010, July 28). FBI. Retrieved November 12, 2013, from http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/the-lindbergh-kidnapping
What is the AMBER Alert System?. (n.d.). AMBER Alert System: America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from http://amber.ny.gov/ kidnapping. (2008). TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved November 13, 2013, from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/kidnapping
Also, children are more likely to be abducted by someone they know rather than someone they do not know. According to Jackson (2007), young children are likely to be abducted by someone they know because they are less likely to resist or verbally protest (p.523). Children are the last line of defense for abduction; however, children who are taught refusal skills can help prevent the abduction. Teaching about safety and security is a very important aspect of the program. Got 2B safe gave teachers the opportunity to provide their students with a positive and empowering lesson about personal safety. Children are dependent on adult figures for care; unfortunately, in a negative way, this exposes them to abduction. With the support and dedication of Honeywell, Peppercom, and other anti-abduction campaigns, educators have been given more time and resources to put an emphasis on child abduction
Many things that happen in this world are scary and totally out of our control. Child abduction is a horrifying and life changing event that has terrified many children, parents and love ones. Child abduction is every parent's worst nightmare. It could happen in the grocery store, yard or even your child's school. The horrifying truth is that child abduction could happen almost anywhere in the world. However, the most crucial part about their whole experience can be once they’re rescued and brought back to their loved ones. Many survivors tend to feel unsafe and in most cases, and just can’t be the same person.
A book titled Taken, by Edward Bloor is a fascinating story of adventure and kidnapping that is set in the year 2035. In this futuristic book, kidnapping is a rather common practice. Children that are raised by very rich families are often the ones that are kidnapped, or "taken" because the parents could provide more ransom money. For this reason, all rich children would move to highly secured neighborhoods, and hire butlers that doubled as security guards. The children were then required to take classes on what to do if they were taken.
Kotrla, K., & Wommack, B. A. (2011). Sex Trafficking of Minors in the U.S.: Implications for Policy, Prevention and Research. Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 2 (Iss. 1), article 5.
The federal Megan’s Law established three specific conditions. The first condition required information from state sex offender registries to be distributed publicly so that all community citizens have access to it. The second condition required any information collected by registration programs within the states to be released for any reason given that it is allowed under the state law. Finally, the third condition required local and state law enforcement agencies to release all applicable information from state registration programs needed for the protection of the public (Corrigan, 2006, p. 271).
Thousands of children are kidnapped each year. However, one of the most famous kidnappings was the Lindbergh Kidnapping in 1932. The kidnapping was called, “The Crime of the Century”. After much hard work, detectives were able to find the kidnapper, Bruno Hauptmann. Evidence of ransom notes, possession of ransom money, and access to tools make Bruno Hauptmann guilty in the Lindbergh Kidnapping.
In the article “Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking in the United States,” Kimberly Kotrla discussed the disheartening facts of what’s going on in the United States under our noses. Today more and more people are finding out about this sad industry. In Alaska my brother goes out in the streets to help save these girls in sex trafficking. Knowing my brother is doing something to end this made me feel proud while reading this informative essay.
Unknown. "Human Sex Trafficking of U.S. Minors." WND. N.p., 20 Oct. 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
In the twenty first century statistics have proven that stranger abductions are feared most by parents but rarely happen, and the number one abduction that occurs is, parental abduction. “Over 800,000 children are reported missing in the United States each year. Child abduction is a tragedy that devastates parents and touches all of us,” writes Jenny Wanderscheid in her online article. The United States has feared abductions for over decades, but many people misjudge the stereotypical “abduction”.
January 13, 1996, nine-year-old Amber Rene Hagerman was abducted while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas. That afternoon, Amber, and her brother were at their Grandparents house. Amber Hagerman, and her five-year-old brother, Ricky, pedaled their bicycles to an abandoned grocery store. This was a typical place for children to ride their bikes because it was an abandoned parking lot with lots of room to play and ride. Minutes later, Ricky turned to head back home, about a block away. Jim Kevil, a 78-year-old retiree, stood in his backyard not far...
The United States is a major port for human trafficking and, “Due to the covert nature of human trafficking, it is difficult to ascertain which countries are the primary source nations for trafficking into the US” (Hepburn). People of all ages and genders are at risk to human trafficking (Hepburn). Women and girls make up about fifty-six percent of the people trafficked for forced labor, while men and boys make up the other forty-four percent; children make up forty to fifty percent of those numbers (Hepburn). Ninety-eight percent of the people trafficked for sexual explorations are women and girls (Hepburn). Children tend to be targeted more than adults because they are much more vulnerable. Human trafficking has different forms, and “While trafficking for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation is more publicized in the media, it is not the only form of trafficking that takes place in the US” (Hepburn). Trafficking for the purposes of forced labor is just as likely to occur as trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation (Hepburn). Many citizens have never heard of human trafficking for something other than sexual exploitation. Hepburn shows that, “Forty-three percent are trafficked for purposes of...
The following topic is based upon my viewing of They Took Our Child: We Got Her Back, The Katie Romanek Story. I have viewed the story of the abduction of Katie Romanek and have seen the story of the young girl that survived from a child abduction. Here, I place the thoughts and opinions of the case that tie into what had happened to Katie Romanek. I will place a comparison of the differences of how the kidnapping was handled then and how it could possibly be handled in today's standards.
Many countries experience different forms, and different people experience it in different ways. For example, a phrase referred to as “birth mother trafficking,” by Taylor Brown of University or North Carolina and Jini Roby of Birmingham Young University, happens very frequently (71). Chad Turner shares an account of birth mother trafficking in Samoa, where mothers were approached in a market place and were convinced to give away their children to the American adoption agency, Focus on Children (97). Along with the other forms of emotional tacticss used by adoption agencies to get children, they scare their victims into abiding by their wishes. This is why children hesitate to tell their adoptive parents what actually happened to them, or biological parents are reluctant to fight for their children back. The fear tactics used are damaging to all parties involved. Anti-adoption groups exist in many of these countries, and were once viewed as the “bad guys” by those trying to adopt. Looking further into their views, they oppose the evil practices and trafficking involved in intercountry adoption. Adoption agencies are a huge market in third world countries, and they have tremendous power and
Persons found guilty of committing the crime of kidnapping risk being imprisoned or heavily find. Additionally, during a kidnap some other offense might occur such as assault and battery. False Imprisonment and Kidnapping are comparative terms but unmistakable as per their legal definitions. While both include persuasively taking an individual away without his consent, false imprisonment is more correctly used in particular cases where a person is confined in a bounded place and denied his or her freedom. Kidnapping is a broader term and includes the unlawful taking of an individual without his consent using threats, deceit, or force with an end goal of confining him or her (Robbins, 2014).
“Stolen people, stolen dream” is the brutality faced by numerous, vulnerable, gullible children in the black market around the world even in the admirable United States. Trafficking of children is the modern day slavery, the act of recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for compelled labor or commercial sex acts through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. More than ever, it has become a lucrative method that is trending in the underground economy. A pimp can profit up to $150,000 per children from age 4-12 every year, as reported by the UNICEF. Also, according to the International Labor Organization statistics, “There are 20.9 million victim of human trafficking globally, with hundreds of thousands in the United