Parental Kidnapping - Research Issues and Priorities

The first paper examined existing State and Federal statutory and case laws and decisions related to the problem of parental kidnapping, with particular attention to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act. The second paper discussed research issues in the study of parental kidnapping. At the NIJ conference on parental kidnapping, several speakers emphasized the difficulty in locating the kidnapped child and the lack of consistent policies governing the response of various criminal justice agencies to the victimized parents. Reasons are given for the failure of the law and the legal system to deal successfully with parental kidnapping cases. Other speakers focused on the research done in this area and the definitions required of law makers regarding parental kidnapping. Conference participants recommended that NIJ conduct an incidence and experience study which would identify the scope of the problem and the administrative issues of concern to policymakers. Various approaches for collecting incidence and experience data are also recommended. NIJ conference participants are identified.