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(c) Elliott Publishing.

Crime Time
Err Travel · January 25, 2000

Rats! Reported crime in the U.S. is down again. For the seventh year in a row, both violent and property crimes have fallen significantly with only (only?) 12.5 million crimes reported to the FBI in 1998.

This is terrible news. My business and the employment of hundreds of thousands of other Americans depend on a continuance, if not a rise in the crime rate.

But wait. If the crime rate is decreasing, why are more companies calling me with concerns about the safety of their traveling employees? One explanation: I am a genius at marketing programs that no one needs.

Some ostrich-headed detractors might claim that this is indeed the case (without the "genius" part, of course). But as much as I'd like to think that I can sell as well as the next guy, if I were that good, I'd be peddling biomagnetic therapy, not security programs.

Another explanation: While crime in general is decreasing in the U.S., crime perpetrated against travelers isn't. This seems to be a more probable explanation.

But who knows? There have been few studies of crime where travelers are the reported victims. And the studies that have been done have, for the most part, been underwritten by travel vendors or travel trade organizations. Would you believe a report on travel crime commissioned by, say, Hyatt hotels? Me neither.

The FBI statistics probably reflect a reduction in crime where it was most easily found -- in the most crime-ridden locations of cities, towns, and suburbs. These are places that tourists are unlikely to venture and business travelers are likely to avoid.

Moreover, the FBI's statistics apply only to domestic crime. Crimes against overseas travelers become statistics of the host countries, which are likely to have different data-gathering methodologies than that of the United States.

Finally, there is the booming business of kidnapping. Here is where the risk to travelers is increasing. In Colombia alone, an average of eight people are snatched every day. In Mexico City, victims are kidnapped and forced to withdraw money from ATM's before they are released -- a crime so common that our State Department refers to as "express kidnapping."

The Economist recently reported on a study by Hiscox Group, a major provider of kidnap and ransom insurance. That company estimated that between 1995 and 1997, the number of reported kidnappings for ransom worldwide nearly doubled.

With nine out of ten kidnappings not reported, kidnapping for ransom is most definitely a growth industry. Thank goodness. Crime is not disappearing, just evolving. I have slipped my application to the Sally Struthers school of motel management back into my desk drawer.

For the foreseeable future, there will be plenty of work in the travel crime prevention biz.

Dr. Terry Riley is a psychologist and travel security authority. His column appears on Wednesdays. He is author of the popular book Travel Can Be Murder. Visit his site at http://www.appliedpsychology.com or e-mail him at terry@ticked.com.