ABSTRACT
After around five thousand years of recorded history during which pirates, statesmen and crooks used the art of kidnapping as a tool in sporadic bursts, the practice underwent a worldwide sea change in the late 1960s and early 1970s and began to take on the shape that we recognize today. A combination of terrorist and criminal actions propelled kidnapping to the forefront of consciousness of many in the world and there is no sign of a letup. Terrorists and revolutionaries use the tactic to make political statements or to raise funds, while criminals commit kidnappings for profit, straining the ability of law enforcement and terrorizing entire populations.
