Editing Kidnapping (section)

===United States===
{{Main|Kidnapping in the United States}}
Law in the United States follows from English common law. Following the highly publicized 1932 [[Lindbergh kidnapping]], [[US Congress|Congress]] passed the [[Federal Kidnapping Act]], which authorized the [[FBI]] to investigate kidnapping at a time when the Bureau was expanding in size and authority. The fact that a kidnapped victim may have been taken across state lines brings the crime within the ambit of federal criminal law.

Most states recognize different types of kidnapping and punish according to such factors as the location, duration, method, manner and purpose of the offense.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=King |first1=M.J. |title=Kidnapping in Florida: Don't Move or You've Done It |journal=Stetson Law Review |date=1983 |volume=13 |page=197}}</ref> There are several deterrents to kidnapping in the United States of America. Among these are:

# The extreme logistical challenges involved in successfully exchanging the money for the return of the victim without being apprehended or surveilled.
# Harsh punishment. Convicted kidnappers face lengthy prison terms. If a victim is brought across state lines, federal charges can be laid as well.
# Good cooperation and information sharing between law enforcement agencies, and tools for spreading information to the public (such as the [[AMBER Alert]] system).

In 2009, [[Phoenix, Arizona]] reported over 300 cases of kidnapping, gaining it a reputation as America's kidnapping capital, as according to the ''[[Los Angeles Times]].'' Hundreds of kidnappings for ransom occurred in the city, as per the ''Times'', most of them having connections to Mexican drug and human trafficking as a way to pay off unpaid debts.<ref name="quinones1">{{cite news |last=Quinones |first=Sam |date=2009-02-12 |title=Phoenix, kidnap-for-ransom capital |url=https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/latinamerica/la-na-drug-kidnappings12-2009feb12,0,544773.story |access-date=2012-01-20 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> These statistics would have made the city have the highest kidnapping rate of any U.S. city, and second in the world only to [[Mexico City]].<ref name="project.org">{{cite web |title=Project America: Crime: Crime Rates: Kidnapping |url=https://www.project.org/info.php?recordID=158 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327210711/http://www.project.org/info.php?recordID=158 |archive-date=2012-03-27 |access-date=2012-05-14 |publisher=Project.org}}</ref> However, an investigation and later audit by the U.S. Department of Justice Inspector General found these statistics to be falsified. Only 59 federally reportable kidnappings occurred in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |title=Phoenix Kidnappings: Uncovering the Truth |url=https://www.abc15.com/generic/news/local_news/investigations/Phoenix-Kidnappings%3A-Uncovering-The-Truth |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413042019/https://www.abc15.com/generic/news/local_news/investigations/Phoenix-Kidnappings%3A-Uncovering-The-Truth |archive-date=2013-04-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Audit Division |url=https://www.justice.gov/oig/grants/2012/g6012006.pdf |title=Report GR-60-12-006 Review of the Phoenix Police Department's 2008 Kidnapping Statistic reported in Department of Justice Grant Applications |year=2012}}</ref> This is in comparison to the over 300 claimed kidnappings on grant applications. The falsified data can be attributed to a variety of issues within the southwestern United States as a whole, including misclassification by local police, lack of unified standards, a desire for Federal grants, or the [[Mexican drug war|Mexican Drug War]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Ross |first=Brian |date=2009-02-11 |title=Kidnapping Capital of the U.S.A. |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=6848672&page=2 |access-date=2013-02-05 |work=ABC News}}</ref>