statistics on child abduction old but good article

Statistics on Child Abduction
Parents Fear Kidnapping More Than Car Accidents - What are the Odds?

Sep 11, 2009 Lisa C. DeLuca

Confronting the facts about child abduction, kidnapping and sexual assault of children can be unsettling, but gives parents some understanding of what to teach kids.

Parents seem to fear kidnapping more than anything else. Some say that excessive television news coverage of child abduction causes parents to have a fear that is overblown. In 1999, only 115 children were abducted by strangers with the intent to keep, kill or hold them for ransom.

Though horrifying for those 115 and for society as a whole, the number does seem small, especially considering that there are 40 million children in the US. This would place the odds of a child being kidnapped and held or killed by a stranger at 1 in 347,000.

But statistics show that lots more children are taken by acquaintances or people they know, primarily for the purpose of sexually assaulting them, so the parental fear may not be as overblown as it seems.

Confronting the fact that heinous crimes are committed against children probably makes people feel worse, regardless of whether the statistics show small or large numbers. But staying informed and knowing the facts can be useful when considering how to instruct children. Here are some statistics:
According to the FBI and The US Dept. of Justice:

* 800,000 juveniles (under 18) are reported missing each year, but this includes runaways.
* "Family kidnapping" accounts for nearly 50% of all child kidnappings.
* Approximately 80% of acquaintance and stranger kidnappings are sexually motivated.
* For every 10,000 missing child reports (including runaways) around one child was killed, according to the U.S. Justice Department in 1990.

29,000 Children Sexually Assaulted, Mostly Girls

According to David Finkelhor, Director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire in conjunction with the United States Federal Justice Department, 58,000 children in 1999 were taken for short periods of time (i.e. not overnight) mostly by people they knew excluding relatives. Of those, nearly half were sexually assaulted and many were killed. (The report says “fewer than 1% were killed” but 1% of 58,000 is 580, a substantial number.) Nearly two-thirds of these abductees were girls, most of whom were teenagers.

This is why children must be taught that they cannot trust every person just because they recognize them or know them. They should be taught to always trust their instincts and get themselves out of situations that make them uncomfortable.
Non-Family Abductions Total 3,000 to 5,000 per Year

According to the Amber Alert Registry, approximately 3,000 to 5,000 abductions each year are non-family abductions. Most of these cases are sexual assault cases. About 74% of the victims of non-family child abduction are girls.
Read on

* Steps to Take if a Child is Abducted
* How to Recognize Signs of an Abducted Child
* Prevent Child Abduction by Understanding Lures

About 200 to 300 of these cases are the most serious cases where a child was murdered, taken with the intent to keep, or held for ransom. According to Finkelhor, only 115 cases of this type of kidnapping occurred in 1999. These children were taken by strangers or barely known acquaintances. While stranger abduction is the most uncommon, it is by far the most dangerous. Half of these children were sexually assaulted and 40% were killed.
Abduction Usually Occurs Near the Child’s Home

The Department of Justice revealed that in 80% of abductions by strangers, the first contact occurred and/or the abduction itself occurred within a quarter mile of the child's home. This implies that children may be watched by their abductor prior to being taken.

Most victims are either forced or lured into the cars of the abductors. Never approaching a car should be a large focus of teaching safety to children.

The typical victim in child abductions resulting in murders was 11 years old, white females in middle class neighborhoods, just like Jaycee Dugard, who was kidnapped at age 11 and recently reunited with her family after 18 years in captivity. This is according to a 1997 survey sponsored by the Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention or OJJDP.
Where Kidnappings Occur

A study conducted in 1999 by the National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Throwaway Children or NISMART, found that in over 70% of stranger kidnapping victims were taken from outdoor areas like parks and playgrounds, and 7% were taken from public buildings like shopping malls.




Of these cases, approximately 90% are committed by males who are between 20-40 years old. In these cases, the child is returned alive less than 60% of the time. 4% are never found.

Most child abductions are perpetrated by family members. While the chances of a stranger abducting one’s child are slim, those who do get abducted by strangers are often sexually abused and killed. Many other children are detained or sexually assaulted by strangers, acquaintances or family members. Providing reasonable supervision to children and teaching kids to be safe without subjecting them to paralyzing fear is the difficult task of parents.
BNC101
Copyright Lisa C. DeLuca
http://www.suite101.com/content/statistics-on-child-abduction-a147599#ixzz16yhCMBGv


basically this article says what we have been saying for the last 3 and a half years maddie was NOT abducted THE staistics dont add up

Good post. Grisly reading, but an important reminder. However, I don't think we can say Maddie wasn't abducted simply because statistics prove stranger abductions to be highly unlikely. Some children are abducted by strangers and are never seen again. What the statistics prove is that when a child goes missing we should immediately focus on the family and acquaintances of that child. And to me this just highlights how utterly bizarre this whole case is. If Maddie's parents had seemed normal, if their friends had seemed normal, if there weren't gargantuan holes in their statements, and if there wasn't the evidence of the dogs etc etc, we should still be focusing on the family. As it is, these people have "Guilty as Hell" written all over them, and yet for some reason they continue to be helped by the powers-that-be and other morons.

adrianm wrote:Good post. Grisly reading, but an important reminder. However, I don't think we can say Maddie wasn't abducted simply because statistics prove stranger abductions to be highly unlikely. Some children are abducted by strangers and are never seen again. What the statistics prove is that when a child goes missing we should immediately focus on the family and acquaintances of that child. And to me this just highlights how utterly bizarre this whole case is. If Maddie's parents had seemed normal, if their friends had seemed normal, if there weren't gargantuan holes in their statements, and if there wasn't the evidence of the dogs etc etc, we should still be focusing on the family. As it is, these people have "Guilty as Hell" written all over them, and yet for some reason they continue to be helped by the powers-that-be and other morons.

yeah i agree we cant say maddie wsnt abducted a 100% but this article says how unlikley it is

If a child is abducted then that child HAS to be found within 24 hours....the chances off finding a child ALIVE after that is...NIL

A child which is not found within 72 hours is most likely dead, so i dont know WHO told the mccanns or are still telling the mccanns that madeleine is ALIVE.


When sarah payne was abducted the police KNEW that she was most probably dead though didnt say it to sara and after not finding her in 24 hours hours the outlook was very grim and the police had a good idea that sarah was dead and after being informed off a body after 72 hours.....their nightmare had come true.


You also have to look at the age off a child.....sarah was 7, most paedophiles go for a child off that age, they dont go for babies unless they are known to them and they dont go for toddlers unless again, they are connected to them, so saying that a paedophile had taken madeleine, well unless it was someone she knew, it didnt happen.

There was no evidence of and abduction ...not one minute bit

if it was planed why was he walking the streets with maddie...

if it was to sell to a childless couple ...why not Amelia...

why did the mccs not insist on all the CCTV footage to be checked .[we do know at least one in the vicinity was not checked]..they was on the ball with everything else ...and i remember them being extremely happy wit the way the PJ were handling the case.....even when the PJ refused the help of sniffer dogs from England ...they were happy with it all

why was there no DNA of maddie's in the apartment....that is incredible[i mean what about the cloths maddie was wearing that day..or even tooth brush]

the thing also is maddie just disappeared into thin air....not one trace of her has been found even with the world looking for her and a multi million pound reward....how this abduction theory is still believed and that maddie is still alive is as impossible ....as the abduction....

xtina exactly and this article highlights that IMO it also says that the majority of child abductions are known to the child or family related