Kidnapping is an often misunderstood crime that is frequently misrepresented by the media creating misperceptions that the risk is not that great.  In fact, if you or your employees and top-level executives or high net-worth individuals travel or live internationally in many global locations, they are at risk of being abducted.  Kidnapping for ransom or extortion is a rapidly growing global epidemic that can have violent and even fatal consequences.  With the number of individuals traveling to locations such as Central and South America, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa increasing dramatically, the threat of kidnapping has become even greater.  In fact, there are an estimated 15,000-20,000 kidnap, detentions, and extortions that take place globally every year.  In reality, this number is probably much higher as it’s estimated that only about 35% of all kidnappings globally are reported to the authorities.  Additionally, about half of these incidents are taking place in Latin America and Mexico, which has one of the highest kidnapping rates in the world.  There are many motivations and types of kidnappings that we will discuss at length later.  As previously mentioned, kidnapping is a very geographically focused crime and differs greatly depending on the location and type of kidnappers.  For this reason, we will not only discuss some of the differences from region to region and country-specific differences but we will also discuss some of the more prominent groups so that you have an understanding of the nature of the crime in the areas where you are traveling, working or living, giving you the ability to effectively assess the threat of that area and mitigate kidnap risks.

This class is designed to give you the knowledge, skills, and confidence to successfully minimize kidnap risk and operate in hostile environments.  It is divided into segments that address specific areas: Prevention, Avoidance, and Hostage Incident Survival.  While there are numerous types of kidnappings including parental / relative kidnappings and kidnapping for sexual assault, murder, etc.  This class will focus on kidnappings such as kidnap for ransom (K&R), political or jihadist kidnappings, and various predatory kidnappings.  To address these risks we will examine:

• Who is at risk

• The various types of kidnappings

• Specific case studies

• Understanding the process

• Conducting a threat / personal vulnerability assessment

• Threat types

• Prevention methods

• Personal security,

• Surveillance

• Options for targeted individuals,

• Hostage survival