Number Of Child Kidnappings By Strangers Unchanged Over Past Decade And A Half; Fewer End In Homicide

WASHINGTON, June 16, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- While the number of children kidnapped by strangers or slight acquaintances has remained comparatively constant over the past decade and a half, the percentage of children who are killed by their kidnappers has declined significantly, according to findings released today by the Office of Justice Programs' Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). 

These findings were reported in the OJJDP bulletin Child Victims of Stereotypical Kidnappings Known to Law Enforcement in 2011, which summarizes results from the third National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children (NISMART) on kidnappings of children by strangers and slight acquaintances (called stereotypical kidnappings by the researchers). A research team from the University of New Hampshire's Crimes against Children Research Center and the Rockville Institute compared 2011 findings on stereotypical kidnappings with results from the second NISMART study (conducted in 1997) using data from a national sample of law enforcement agencies. 

Researchers found that the estimated number of stereotypical kidnappings of children remained virtually the same between the two surveys (115 in 1997 and 105 in 2011); however, in 2011, a smaller portion of these incidents ended in victim homicide (8 percent in 2011 versus 40 percent in 1997). Kidnappings involving 92 percent of child victims in 2011 ended in the recovery of the child alive, compared with 57 percent of victims in 1997.

Among other findings, about 81 percent of the victims were girls, and roughly half were between the ages of 12 and 17.  Half of all stereotypical kidnappings in 2011 were sexually motivated crimes against adolescent girls.  New technology, such as cell phones and the Internet, played a role in solving the crimes involving two-thirds of the victims.

About the Office of Justice Programs (OJP)

OJP, headed by Assistant Attorney General Karol V. Mason, provides federal leadership in developing the nation's capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice and assist victims. OJP has six components: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Office for Victims of Crime and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking. More information about OJP can be found at www.ojp.gov.

SOURCE Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs

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