NCJ Number
76053
Journal
Terrorism Volume: 5 Issue: 1 and 2 Dated: (1981) Pages: 125-137
Date Published
1981
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Kidnapping is examined as a high-yield, low-risk crime for political or criminal reasons; described are the organization of kidnaps, various means of protecting against them, and contingency planning and crisis management in the event of a kidnap.
Abstract
Due to the experience of Lloyd's of London in underwriting every kind of risk worldwide, Britain has been a leader in kidnap insurance, prevention, and negotiation, with a growth in premium income from $150,000 in 1970 to $50 million in 1976. In kidnap and fire risks, Lloyd's found it cost-effective for specialized consultants to advise clients on risk reduction negotiation in the event of a kidnap. Lloyd's founded such a consultancy (Control Risks Ltd.) which has now expanded to meet a rising demand from insured clients as well as from increasing numbers of uninsured clients who engage them on a consultancy fee basis. Kidnap risk management involves identifying and assessing the risk and deciding how far it can practicably be avoided, reduced, or transferred, or whether it should just be ignored. In assessing the form in which the threat might materialize, the antikidnap surveyor looks through the eyes of the local criminal gangs and political extremists to formulate the client's plan. In addition to the potential victim and his family, contingency planning for a kidnap crisis must consider and include lawyers, the potential victim's own security advisors, the executives of the victim's firm, the government of the country in which the firm is operating, the police, the army, and the mass media. Contingency planning must include the formation of leading company executives into a shadow crisis management team. In the event of a kidnapping, the team would train employees to handle contacts with kidnappers and develop policies for negotiation and for the ransom payment. Eight footnotes are provided.