In 2003 Honeywell and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) put out a national survey and they found that abductions and kidnappings were the number-two concern among parents and grandparents. A 1998 study of parents’ worries by pediatricians at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester found that three-quarters of the parents feared their children could be abducted. One-third said this was a frequent worry.
This fear is valid and fueled by media coverage of child kidnappings. Parents are seeing their worst fear on live TV and it terrifies them. This is natural. The statistics released are also terrifying. For example, in 2001 840,270 adults and children were reported missing to the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC). The FBI believed that 85-90% of those reported were children. However, the FBI says that the majority of those cases are resolved in hours. The numbers are scary, but the truth is most of those cases were solved quickly.
There are three types of kidnappings:
-
Family Kidnappings account for 49%.
-
Acquaintance Kidnappings (someone the victim knows) account for 27%.
-
Stranger Kidnappings account for 24%
Family kidnappings are most committed by parents. Mothers account for about 43% of these kidnappings.
Acquaintance kidnappings, shockingly, involve a large percentage of juvenile offenders. (A 1993 study found that adolescents were responsible for about one-half of the reported child molestation cases and about one-fifth of all rapes.) Female teenagers are most often the victims of these types of kidnappings. Sexual and physical assault is highly associated with acquaintance kidnappings.
Stranger Kidnappings involve more female victims than males (74% off all victims are female). Most of the kidnappings occur outside; most of the time teenagers and children under the age of 12 are victims; and sexual assault is typically associated with the female kidnapping victims. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) states that about 20 percent of the non-family abductions reported to them are not found alive. They also state that in 80 percent of the stranger kidnappings the stranger comes in first contact with a child within a quarter-mile of the child’s home. In addition, the kidnapper either grabs them or lures them into their vehicles.
The Lost Child Alert Technology Resource (Locator) (http://www.locaterposters.org/) quotes a study by the Washington State Attorney General’s Office which indicates that in 74 percent of the most tragic cases, missing-child homicides, the child is killed within the first 3 hours. The NCMEC understood that it was crucial to act quickly so they launched Locatorâ„¢. This web-based program gives law-enforcement the tools they need to quickly disseminate images and information locally, statewide, or nationwide. This program is free to law-enforcement. Locatorâ„¢ also offers a web-based poster-creation program which helps law-enforcement create and distribute posters they have made. They can also distribute posters electronically and transmit the information to other agencies, media outlets, and the general public.
Child kidnappings or abductions are a parent’s worst nightmare. Our goal is to give parents and children the information they need to prevent or avoid these tragedies. Other articles that can help you prepare your children include:
Can Your Child Identify a Stranger?
Strangers May be Less Dangerous Than People Your Child Knows
What Your kids Should Do When Approached by a Stranger
