Answers
Kidnapping is a diverse and evolving phenomenon that is especially prevalent in
➫ Third World countries with high levels of crime.
>>> These countries are generally poorly resourced and have inadequately trained
police personnel, corrupt public officials, ineffective intelligence services, a
weak judiciary and a history of political or social instability and conflict
Noor-Mohammed (2014 in Van Heerden, 2017) is of the opinion that when
career kidnapping for ransom incidents occurs
➫ various definitional issues can cause challenges for the criminal justice
system, resulting in confusion, since kidnapping incidences can span multiple
jurisdictions
In American law, kidnapping is defined as
➫ "the taking of a person against his/her will, or decision through violence,
force, threat or intimidation".
,British law defines kidnapping as
➫ "the nature of the offence is an attack on, and infringement of, the personal
liberty of an individual"
British law contains four criteria
➫ • the taking away or carrying away of one person by another
• by force or by fraud
• without the consent of the person so taken or carried away
• without lawful excuse
South African common law defines kidnapping as follows:
➫ "it consists in unlawfully and intentionally depriving a person of his or her
freedom of movement and/or, if such a person is a child, the custodians of their
control over the child"
,kidnapping can include a broad range of actions that can be associated with
other criminal acts, such as
➫ hijacking or robbery
Kidnapping for ransom is associated with instances where
➫ the offender seeks money or a specific action as an outcome, such as debt
recovery, propaganda, revenge or sexual purposes
Phillips (in Van Heerden, 2017) defines kidnapping for ransom as
➫ the "taking and holding of a person in an unknown location for the intention
of seeking some form of concession, regardless of whether a monetary, political,
social (ransom) demand is sought after"
Aspects that are of importance from the definitions of kidnapping are
➫ the deprivation of a person's freedom for a certain unknown period until
some sort of compensation is agreed upon between the perpetrators and the
victim's family, after which the kidnapped hostage will be released.
, American law defines extortion as
➫ a crime obtaining money or property by threat to a victim's property or
loved ones, intimidation or false claim of a right.
In British law, extortion is defined as
➫ the practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or
threats.
South African law defines extortion as being when
➫ a person unlawfully and intentionally obtains some advantage, which may be
of either a patrimonial or a
non-patrimonial nature, from another by subjecting the latter to pressure which
induces him/her to hand over the advantage.
According to Mastrosimone (in Van Heerden, 2017), patrimonial damage relates
to
➫ financial loss or "something that can be converted into or expressed in
terms of money or economic value".