ARTICLES
Staying in: Virtual kidnappings in Mexican hotels
Criminals in Mexico have increasingly sought to use hotels for staging virtual kidnap attempts. Erin Drake considers the methods and tactics used by kidnappers to carry out a fake abduction.
Criminals in Mexico have increasingly sought to use hotels for staging virtual kidnap attempts. Erin Drake considers the methods and tactics used by kidnappers to carry out a fake abduction.
Criminal groups have experienced reduced revenue in the Covid-19 lockdown period. As criminals look to bolster their diminishing income in the coming months, they will likely aim to intensify and diversify extortion and kidnap activities, writes Erin Drake.
Recent demonstrations triggered by George Floyd’s killing during an arrest by Minneapolis police have been unparalleled in terms of their scale and global reach, writes Saif Islam.
As has been the case for several years, the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) was the world’s piracy hotspot in the first quarter of 2020, despite a slight decrease in incidents compared to the same period in 2019.
The rising insurgency in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado Province highlights the threat to oil and gas personnel in the region. Darren Davids writes that militants in the region are likely to target expatriate workers in the oil and gas industry, underscoring the importance of a resilient crisis management plan that effectively addresses country evacuation…
The COVID-19 outbreak has led to worldwide travel bans and restrictions as well as nearly a complete stop in global passenger air traffic, leaving hundreds of thousands of people stranded in foreign countries. Saif Islam highlights the varied challenges of evacuating and repatriating people amid the pandemic.
In recent months, kidnappings have increased in Haiti. Emboldened by widespread political instability, violent protests, and the recent COVID-19 outbreak, criminals will continue to make use of the country’s unstable security environment to step up kidnapping activities, writes Erin Drake.
The Covid-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on people, politics and business around the world. Many governments have introduced lockdowns of varying degrees to contain the pandemic. These measures, enforced by the police and sometimes the military, have brought down crime rates even in some of the most violent countries around the world.…
S-RM asked John White, Head of Crisis Preparation, to give his insights into how businesses should be preparing themselves for the wide variety of threats climate change poses, whether these relate to the resource scarcity, adverse weather conditions, or physical security.
Resource scarcity has historically contributed to – and prolonged – various conflicts, both between states, as well as between communities or groups within states.
S-RM spoke to David Lawson, Deputy Head of Crisis Response, about some of the recent global trends in kidnapping and extortion, and to hear about some of the key considerations for S-RM’s Crisis Response team when they are working on a live case.
Wrongful detention, kidnapping and targeted attacks will likely remain the primary threats to NGO personnel in the coming year.