A tiger kidnapping is a crime in which criminals take a person’s family or partner hostage, usually at home and often overnight, to force that person to hand over cash, valuables or access they control. The hostage is leverage, not the prize. The criminals rely on fear to stop the victim calling the police, even when they have the chance.
Someone asked me what tiger kidnapping was. They had heard the term on the news and knew what kidnapping was, but not tiger kidnapping. This is my attempt to explain it, and to set out how households and businesses can make themselves a poor target. For families who want protection at home, residential security for the family home is designed around exactly this kind of risk.
In short:
- What it is: short-term hostage taking to force someone to hand over money or valuables.
- Who is targeted: people with access to large amounts of cash or valuables, and their families.
- The warning signs: people or vehicles watching the house, questions about your routine, callers who do not add up.
- The defence: control who gets into the house, remove the payoff, agree duress procedures, and always tell the police.
What Is Tiger Kidnapping?
There are two broad groups of kidnap offences:
- Conventional kidnap involves taking and holding a person for a long period against a demand for ransom, usually from their family or employer.
- Tiger kidnapping involves the short-term hostage taking of family members of someone who has immediate access to cash or valuables. The captives are often held overnight, and the aim is to frighten the victim so badly that they will not contact the police.
The name is said to come from the way the criminals watch their target, sometimes for weeks, before they strike.
Tiger Kidnapping in the UK
The term is used by police in the UK and Ireland, where the crime has been aimed most often at people who work in banks, cash depots, jewellers and other businesses that hold cash or valuables. The best-known British case is the 2006 robbery of a Securitas cash depot in Tonbridge, Kent, where the depot manager, his wife and their young son were kidnapped to give the robbers access.
Wealthy families face a related risk at home. Criminals who believe a house holds cash, jewellery, watches or art may take the family hostage to force one member to open a safe or reveal where valuables are kept. Our guide to securing your home against invasion covers that risk in detail.
Who Is a Good Target?
- Someone with access to large amounts of cash or valuables.
- Someone who can be taken with close family members and held without anyone reporting their absence.
- Someone whose kidnap the police will not know about while it is happening.
If we can remove any of these factors, or reduce them so far that the risk to the criminals outweighs the payoff, the crime will most probably not happen.
Kidnap Cases Close to Home
Kidnaps for ransom of wealthy people and their families are rare, but they share a pattern: the victim is watched near home and taken where their routine is predictable.
- In 2015 Markus Würth, the disabled adult son of the German industrialist Reinhard Würth, was taken from where he lived in Germany. His parents received a ransom demand; he was later found tied to a tree in a wood near Würzburg, unharmed, and no money was paid.
- In 2016 Jacqueline Veyrac, then in her seventies, was snatched from her car near her home in Nice and held for ransom. She was found two days later after a local resident noticed a suspicious van. Three years earlier a neighbour had foiled an attempt to take her from the same spot.
- In 2013 police were called to the Hertfordshire home of the singer Tulisa Contostavlos after two men were seen acting suspiciously outside. No crime had been committed, but the call shows the value of reporting what you see.
In each case, an alert neighbour, a quick report or a large police response made the difference.
The Warning Signs
Most targeted crimes involve watching first. Be alert to:
- People or vehicles seen more than once near your home, office or your children’s school.
- Questions about your routine put to staff, neighbours or the children.
- Unexpected callers claiming to be from a utility, a delivery firm or the police, especially at dusk.
- Being followed, or the same vehicle appearing on different journeys.
- Online interest: new followers or messages asking about your family, home or plans.
Write down what you see, with dates, times and number plates, and report it. If you feel in danger, call 999.
Protecting Your Household
The aim is to stop criminals getting easy access to your home and to make it difficult for them to take you or your family. If they have to make a lot of noise, such as smashing down a door, they will often give up in case the police have been called.
At Home
- Identify callers before opening the door. If in doubt, do not open it.
- Fit solid doors and good locks, and keep windows locked.
- At night, close the curtains before turning on the lights.
- Keep front boundaries low to give a clear view, and rear boundaries high for security and privacy. Thorny hedges make a good barrier, and gravel paths make footsteps easy to hear.
- Keep young children in sight. If you leave them with someone, make sure that person knows the risk and what to do.
- Consider a room the family can lock from inside and call for help from. A purpose-built safe room is the strongest form of this.
Lighting
- Use sensor or timer lighting outside.
- Leave a light on at the front door at night.
- Keep torches to hand in case the power is cut.
Keys
- Keep strict control of your keys and do not allow copies without your permission.
- If a key is lost, change the lock.
- Never hide keys outside the house.
Travelling
- Be alert, especially when leaving or arriving home.
- Vary your routes and the times of your journeys.
- If you think you are being followed, call the police and avoid becoming isolated.
- Be suspicious of anyone trying to get you to stop or leave your vehicle. Keep the doors locked, and when stopping, leave room to drive away.
- Do not leave anything in the car that identifies you, your home or your business.
Household Protocols
- A duress word: a word or phrase the family and staff agree, that tells others you are speaking under threat.
- Check-ins: family members who are out alone let someone know when they arrive and leave.
- Staff briefing: household staff know not to discuss the family’s routine, and know who to call if something seems wrong.
- One rule for visitors: only one named person lets people in, and unexpected callers wait outside until checked.
Families at higher risk may also need close protection for family members on the journeys and occasions where they are most exposed.
What Businesses Can Do
Anyone with access to large amounts of cash or valuables is vulnerable. The best prevention is to reduce the payoff until the risk to the criminal outweighs it: make it not worth the bother. Businesses should:
- Keep cash and valuables on site to the minimum, and split holdings into smaller amounts.
- Make sure no one person can reach enough to be worth kidnapping for, and make that known.
- Limit sensitive information to those who need it to do their job, not by position or seniority.
- Use off-site control or dual control for critical locks and access.
- Use CCTV to cover vulnerable areas.
- Train staff to notice and report signs that a colleague may be acting under duress.
- Encourage staff to report a kidnap in progress, and trust the procedures in place for it.
- Review these procedures regularly.
If a Kidnap Happens
If the worst happens and you, a colleague or a relative is taken, it takes great courage to report it to the police. The criminals depend on victims being so afraid for their family that they will not report it until the proceeds have been handed over and the criminals have escaped. That means trusting the criminals more than your colleagues or the police.
The police have long experience of serious incidents where lives may be in danger. If a kidnap in progress is reported, the priority is always the safety of the victims, and the police will not do anything likely to increase the risk of harm. They will not arrive at the house with lights and sirens or do anything to provoke a hostage situation. Because of their resources, experience and authority, they are best placed to bring it to a safe end.
Personal security awareness training is a simple and effective way to stay safer. When criminals watch potential victims and see that they are alert and careful, they become far less attractive targets.
FAQs
What is the difference between tiger kidnapping and conventional kidnapping?
A conventional kidnap takes a person and holds them, sometimes for a long time, against a ransom demand to their family or employer. A tiger kidnapping holds someone’s family hostage for a short time, often overnight, to force that person to hand over cash, valuables or access they control. The hostage is used as leverage, and the crime is usually over within hours.
Who is most at risk of tiger kidnapping?
People who can reach large amounts of cash or valuables, and their families: staff at banks, cash depots and jewellers, business owners, and wealthy families whose homes are believed to hold cash, jewellery, watches or art. The risk rises when the family’s routine is predictable, their address is easy to find and their absence would not be noticed quickly.
Should you call the police during a tiger kidnapping?
Yes. The criminals depend on fear to stop you. The police have tried and tested procedures for these crimes, and their priority is the safety of the hostages. They will act quietly and will not do anything to provoke a hostage situation. Reporting early gives them the best chance of bringing everyone home safely.
How can a family reduce the risk of tiger kidnapping?
Control who gets into the house, vary routines, keep valuables out of sight and out of the conversation, and brief staff not to discuss the family. Agree a duress word and a check-in habit. Report anyone you think is watching the house. Families at higher risk should have their security reviewed, and may need a residential security team or close protection.
What to Do Next
If kidnap or hostage taking is a concern for your family, start with a risk assessment of your family and home, then talk to us about a residential security team for your home.