SINCE 1970, 370 KIDNAPPINGS HAVE BEEN ATTEMPTED, AND 94 PER CENT SUCCESSFULLY ACCOMPLISHED, BY IDENTIFIED TERRORIST GROUPS. THE NUMBER OF ATTEMPTS HAS BEEN GRADUALLY INCREASING OVER TIME: 49 PERCENT OCCURRED BETWEEN 1975 AND 1978. OVER THREE-FIFTHS OF THE KIDNAPPINGS HAVE OCCURRED IN LATIN AMERICA, ESPECIALLY CENTRAL AMERICA, AND ONE FIFTH IN WESTERN EUROPE. VICTIMS HAVE BEEN HELD FROM 1 DAY TO 1 YEAR, WITH A MEAN OF 33 DAYS, IN THE 55 PERCENT OF CASES FOR WHICH SUCH DATA ARE AVAILABLE. MOST OPERATIONS HAVE INVOLVED KIDNAPPING ONE MALE EXECUTIVE. JUST OVER HALF THE VICTIMS WERE CORPORATE EXECUTIVES (11 PER CENT FROM U.S. CORPORATIONS); 8.6 PERCENT, FOREIGN GOVERNMENT CIVILIANS; 8.1 PERCENT DIPLOMATS FROM COUNTRIES OTHER THAN THE U.S.; 5.9 PERCENT, U.S. DIPLOMATS; 4.9 PERCENT, MILITARY OR POLICE OFFICIALS; AND 18.5 PERCENT, OTHERS SUCH AS TOURISTS, STUDENTS, AND JOURNALISTS. ONE-FIFTH OF THE VICTIMS WERE AMERICANS. KIDNAPPINGS HAD EITHER OR BOTH OF TWO MAIN GOALS: (1) GAINING RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS, OR (2) CASH PAYMENTS. IN THE PAST 4 YEARS, DEMANDS FOR RELEASE OF PRISONERS HAVE SELDOM BEEN MET, BUT MANY RANSOMS HAVE BEEN PAID. THE AVERAGE RANSOM DEMAND HAS GROWN FROM $300,000 IN 1970 TO $1.3 MILLION IN 1978. KIDNAPPING HAS BECOME A PREFERRED METHOD FOR RAISING FUNDS FOR TERRORIST GROUPS. MOST ATTACKS OCCUR BETWEEN THE VICTIM'S HOME AND WORKPLACE, IN THE MORNING, AND BY BLOCKING THE VICTIM'S AUTOMOBILE. AUTOMATIC WEAPONS ARE BEING INCREASINGLY USED. THE KIDNAPPINGS OF THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF FIAT IN FRANCE AND OF THE MANAGER OF TEXAS PETROLEUM IN COLOMBIA ILLUSTRATE THE SOPHISTICATION OF CURRENT TERRORISM. TO PREVENT EXECUTIVE KIDNAPPINGS, BOTH UNDERSTANDING OF THE LOCAL SECURITY ENVIRONMENT AND WILLINGNESS TO REDUCE VULNERABILITY ARE NECESSARY. THE MOST EFFECTIVE PREVENTIVE MEASURE IS FREQUENT AND RANDOM CHANGES IN SUCH DAILY ROUTINES AS ROUTES TO WORK. FIGURES AND FOOTNOTES ARE INCLUDED. FOR SIMILAR ANALYSES ON OTHER FORMS OF TERRORISM, SEE NCJ-63614, 63616, AND 63623. (CFW)