Kidnapping makes me think of the stark reality of Cancer. It is one of the most traumatic occurrences that is seldom expected, but when it strikes, adversely impacts you, your family, your friends as well as business for a very, very long indefinite period of time.

In many instances treatment for cancer is a long, arduous, and previously untraveled road to recovery and still may never be cured 100%. Similarly, the outcome of a kidnapping is unpredictable and uncertain.

As with cancer, it changes relationships in the family, amongst friends and in business for ever, even if the outcome is positive and the kidnapped person released or rescued.

You can do all the right things right and still be faced with a negative outcome. Family, friends, and business must adapt and accept the new normal with a long road restructuring the future. Many decisions will be taken based on this experience and new reality, previously only believed to exist in the movies.

Should the outcome be negative, blame and severe introspection follows, with in many instances conflict between those affected due to emotions, heartaches and uncertainty running wild. It is an unenviable situation and like cancer, one that we must actively plan to avoid at all costs.

Knowledge of the threat of “Cancer”, firstly strategically mitigating the risk with preventative measures and secondly having a well-planned response, managing, and treating should it happen, is imperative. It (effective planning and adequate preventative measures) provides a sense of control and comfort due to many uncertainties pre-addressed, and the consequences prepared and planned for.

In no way does the effective planning and adequate preventative measures take away the pain, longing, and suffering, but does offer structured comfort tailored for the severely inhuman event of a kidnapping incident.

Sadly the “Cancer Cells” may come to haunt you after a period of remission, offering a stark reminder of the reality and evil nature of an Organised Kidnapping Cell.

Calm calculated decision making and accepting the consequences are required. To accept the reality – “it is what it is”, is surly extremely difficult and in direct conflict with our in-bred DNA. It is however the ability to confront this reality with a sober, hopeful, and calm mind that may yield the desired resolution and offer a path to recovery.  

Kidnapping, like Cancer, CAN be beaten. It however requires proper contingency planning focussing on prevention and effective management. If this is not done properly, kidnapping incidents may have a severely negative emotional effect on the personnel. Personnel may question the motive of the kidnapping and if they are also possible targets.

Business sustainability may be at threat.  Does the company still have the appetite to do business in the country? Is the business resilient enough to continue functioning? Does this result in key personnel resigning?  Can the financial impact successfully be managed?

Kidnapping incidents create a direct threat to information management and possible system access. A layered approach and affective response are required to mitigate the potential risk prior, during and after an incident. Access to information and systems, as with funds, needs to be controlled and managed addressing the human factor as well as various systems.

Since Kidnapping incidents are all different, they need to be addressed within the context of the unique nature of each business, the type of kidnapping, the kidnapping cell, the targeted person, location, and any other information available at the time.

Reputational damage needs to be minimized and should the incident become public knowledge a well-coordinated approach to media liaison is required. The perception may during and after many incidents, be more damaging than the true facts.

Companies do have a duty of care, should the nature of work and/or position of employment contribute to a rise in risk. The following three words are of key importance: foreseeability, reasonability, and preventability.  The best approach will be to address all threats and risks as best as possible, if the measures are reasonable and expected in general business.  Similarly, to having a Fire Prevention and Management Plan, although you may never have one, is implementing a Kidnapping Incident Prevention and Management Plan.

Preventative measures should inter alia focus on personal attributes, lifestyle implications and environmental factors. Aligning this with Situational Awareness is of key importance.

In conclusion, the threat is real, the choices are yours, we cannot prevent and control everything, but we can certainly make a huge difference.