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Our Corporate Partners

Kidnap for Ransom in Europe
Kidnap for Ransom in Europe

By Beatriz Sanchez-Garrido & Dr Andy Beale FSyI
Constellis

The Crisis & Risk Services team at Constellis have
joined the Security Institute as a Corporate Partner in
May. In a period when global security is influenced by
serious geopolitical tensions, Constellis wish to support
the Security Institute as they continue to further
professionalise the security industry. To that end,
Constellis is providing our bi-monthly Global Kidnap
for Ransom (K&R) Insight Summary to members of the
intelligence-sharing community. Up-to-date statistics
and analysis that cover current K&R hotspots at
regional, national and provincial level and an overview
of the global piracy threat will inform Security Institute
members as they go about their business protecting
others. In this, our first article for the Security Institute,
we focus on the current K&R situation in Europe.

The K&R picture in Europe

Whilst Europe experiences lower crime rates than other
regions in the world, it is not immune to violent and organised
crime, and traditional kidnap for ransom, including that of
high-profile individuals and other related practices, does
take place. However, the general effectiveness of security
forces and the rule of law in most countries in the region
discourage the proliferation of such crimes by considerably
lowering their cost-effectiveness, and thus hindering their
gaining greater significance, as has happened elsewhere in the
world. Most cases reported in Europe are resolved with the
arrest of the perpetrators, with victims rescued or released
after short periods of captivity. In Europe, long periods of
captivity commonly mean that the victim has been killed by the
kidnappers.

According to a July 2020 report by the European Parliament, the
proceeds of Organised Crime Groups (OCGs) in the European
Union are estimated to be approximately €110 billion a year.
While the illicit drugs trade and extortion remain some of the
most traditional activities of these groups, other enterprises
such as trading in counterfeit goods, fraud and cybercrime
are increasingly profitable. The European organised crime
environment is characterised by its plurality, with a number of
multinational groups and actors participating in the European
criminal landscape, typically defined along ethnic lines.

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