Asian-on-Asian Kidnapping.

Understanding Cultural Influences

South Pasadena, California, is a small community located between the cities of Los Angeles and Pasadena. Despite its location, most residents choose to live there for the small town atmosphere, an outstanding school district, and a low crime rate. In fact, violent crime rarely occurs there.

However, on December 22, 1998, a man knocked on the door of a wealthy Asian's residence located in a hilly, suburban area of South Pasadena. He held a wrapped Christmas present in his hand and asked for the resident by name. When the occupants opened the door, two other men, wearing Halloween masks and toting guns, forced their way into the house.

Within minutes, the gunmen bound and gaged the occupants--the parents of the owners, two cousins, and a housekeeper--and locked them in a back bedroom and then forcibly took the homeowners' 9-year-old daughter from the home. Before leaving, one of the gunmen instructed the family not to call the police if they ever wanted to see the girl again.

One of the occupants ultimately freed herself and then called the victim's mother at her place of employment, who in turn called 911 to report the crime. However, before the police arrived, the father of the victim came home. When South Pasadena officers reached the scene, the father attempted purposefully to tell the police that nothing was wrong and that the call had arisen from a domestic dispute. The officers prudently insisted on searching the house and found the other occupants still bound in the back bedroom. After sorting out the information, the officers began a kidnapping investigation.

If the officers had not insisted on conducting a thorough initial investigation and had accepted the vague explanations of the father at the front door, this kidnapping may have gone unreported. Luckily, the officers pursued the issue, and less than 48 hours later, the police resolved this case successfully. In spite of the father's initial denial of a problem and subsequent lack of cooperation, the police safely recovered the 9-year-old girl, apprehended the suspects, and secured the ransom.

Why might parents jeopardize their child's safety? In this case, the victims and the suspects were of Asian descent and significant anecdotal evidence suggests that most of these types of crimes go unreported. This, and other seemingly abnormal behavior, can cause officers many problems when they investigate Asian-on-Asian kidnappings.

Initial Response

The first officers on the scene faced what appeared as a fairly standard crime scene, albeit the victim's father spoke limited English. Fortunately, these initial officers and supervisors did not follow their first instincts--to string crime scene tape, call for evidence technicians, and begin processing the house for related evidence--but, instead, immediately initiated convert tactics. They removed all police vehicles from the area, parked the evidence technician vehicle inside of the victim's closed garage, shifted police communication from radios to cell phones, and immediately notified the local office of the FBI.

The police set up the command post at the South Pasadena police station because of the immediate availability of equipment (e.g., multiple telephone lines, a copier, and white boards) and physical location of the building. Less than 2 hours after the mother reported the crime, and long before additional law enforcement personnel arrived on the scene, the kidnappers placed the first call to the victim's family. Although police had arranged to monitor and record calls to the residence, they did not expect the kidnappers to call the victim's father's cellular telephone. Luckily, officers recorded the conversation by using a portable tape recorder, although most of the recording only captured the father's side of the call.

The police initially contained the individuals who had the first contact with the suspects--the grandparents, cousins, and housekeeper--and removed them from the crime scene to the police station. The police debriefed them and obtained a composite sketch of the one unmasked suspect. Simultaneously, joint teams of local detectives and FBI agents were placed in the house with the victim's parents to monitor and manage the calls from the kidnappers.

Investigation

This case progressed quickly as the suspects frequently contacted the family. Immediately, officers divided their investigative strategies into a fourpronged approach. First, they processed evidence from the crime scene. This meant standard crime scene considerations (e.g., fingerprints, photographs, and sketches), including composite drawings prepared through witness/victim interviews. While this material initially would unlikely cause an immediate arrest, it would prove critical in the ultimate prosecution of the case. The second approach more closely resembled a common reactive investigation, whereby officers considered leads provided by the victim's parents. Who did they believe could do this? Why would the kidnappers target their family? Who would know about their access to funds? Third, the officers proactively attempted to identify and locate the kidnappers through technology and surveillance. This proved the most active and fast-moving portion of the investigation and demanded a major effort to get ahead of the suspects as opposed to merely reacting to their demands. Last, the officers investigated the parents and their potential role or link to the crime.

During the early hours of the first day, investigators focused their efforts on the third strategy--getting ahead of the suspects. Police in South Pasadena notified the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office of the case and requested a deputy district attorney to assist with the investigation. The district attorney assigned to the case had a great deal of experience in electronic surveillance (i.e., wiretaps and pen register) and search warrants.

Although the police could not effectively taperecord the first call by the suspects to the victim's father's cellular phone, they did obtain the telephone number from which the suspects called through the use of the caller identification feature on the phone. Then, by using a criss-cross directory, investigators obtained the address of the phone, which turned out to be a payphone. After a few calls, investigators narrowed down a specific geographic area that the suspects called from.

While at the outset investigators used this cumbersome method to determine the suspect's location, they arranged to get this information directly from the cellular phone company. In doing so, the police could obtain the number and location of the phone the suspects were using while the call was in progress. In addition, because of the pattern of calls, investigators believed the suspects used the same pay phones to contact other accomplices either immediately before or just after calling the victim's parents. With assistance from the district attorney, investigators secured immediate search warrants for the records from these pay phones in order to determine additional numbers the suspects may have called.

Officers quickly deployed plainclothes surveillance teams into the areas around the pay phones that the suspects used. Police intended to locate the kidnappers while they were still using the phone, identify them, and possibly follow the suspects to the safe house where they held the girl.

On the tenth and final call of the first night, the kidnappers called the victim's father to provide instructions on passing the ransom. Surveillance officers went immediately to the location of the pay phone and arrived while a suspect was still talking with the victim's father. After the call, officers followed the suspects to a residence and identified the vehicle used.

Surveillance and Tactics

Early in the morning on the second day, the department held a briefing for more than 100 surveillance officers. Lead investigators provided the officers with the composite sketch of the one unmasked suspect who entered the home and photos of the suspects and vehicle taken by the surveillance team. Police officials arranged for a helicopter to assist with surveillance. Historically, kidnappers work alone or in very small groups. By contrast, in an Asian-on-Asian kidnapping, multiple suspects usually participate in the crime. This increases the need for air surveillance assets and covert ground personnel to help make law enforcement efforts less vulnerable to exposure.

Police managers then deployed the surveillance teams to cover the pay phones the kidnappers most likely would use. Managers explained two key rules to all of the officers involved. One, if they spot the girl, intervene only if they can do so safely. And, two, do not allow the suspects to identify them as part of a police effort.

During the night, police secured emergency wiretap authority for the victim's home phone, her father's cell phone, and the telephone of the residence identified during surveillance. Although officers stayed with the victim's family at their residence to maintain the integrity of the investigation and because investigators feared the family would stop cooperating, officials did not advise the victim's family that the wiretap also included their home telephone. Due to the potential language barrier, police had Chinese translators at the monitoring site to provide real-time translation of the demands by the kidnappers.

On the final day, the family lost faith in law enforcement's ability to safely retrieve their daughter and, thus, stopped cooperating. The suspects arranged with the victim's family to receive the ransom, and the family believed that if they simply paid it, the kidnappers would release their daughter. The father refused to allow police to place a tracking device in the moneybag and would not allow law enforcement to accompany him to the drop site. Anticipating this, police placed a covert tracking device on the father's car and constantly monitored his location and movements as he traveled to deliver the ransom.

At the time the victim's family delivered the money, the surveillance teams were following over 10 different suspects and monitoring multiple locations. After the father delivered the money, the surveillance teams maintained visual contact until the victim called her mother. Police promptly intercepted this call, identified her location, dispatched units to that location, and alerted other officers of her freedom. As soon as officers had custody of the girl and confirmed her safety, the surveillance teams made the arrests.

Conclusion

This South Pasadena case ended in success--suspects arrested and ultimately convicted, victim returned unharmed, and all of the ransom money returned. These investigations can often prove complex for any law enforcement agency and require advanced planning and forethought by police managers.

Kidnapping for ransom has proved a way of life in many countries and it appears that most emigres remain unaware of how serious American law enforcement reacts to child abductions. Due to the growth of Asian-on-Asian kidnappings, law enforcement must develop a plan, prior to an event occurring, on how to handle these types of cases and their associated problems. In doing so, managers will help their departments become better organized and, more important, successfully resolve such malicious crimes and deter future occurrences.

Chief Berkow heads the South Pasadena, California, Police Department.

Mr. Cox, retired special agent in charge of the FBI'S Los Angeles, California, office, currently serves as the vice president of security for a private firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Initial Considerations

As with any kidnapping, but especially Asian-on-Asian, investigators should review some basic considerations.

* Ensure the victim is really gone: Because cases exist where the child was not missing, but rather hiding, officers should thoroughly search the entire house.

* Secure the scene and go covert: Particularly in Asian-on-Asian kidnappings, subsequent to the crime, suspects often drive by the house to ensure the victims have not called the police. Law enforcement should conduct the usual crime scene processing (e.g., gathering evidence, controlling and isolating witnesses) as covertly as possible.

* Arrange for legal/prosecution assistance on the scene: Legal issues will arise on these fast-moving cases and police will need judicial orders to access phone records, as well as get emergency wiretap authority.

* Anticipate the need for technology and surveillance teams: As early as possible, law enforcement should prepare to receive, trace, and record any calls on all phones and identify the suspects and their locations. Police should arrange for numerous surveillance teams and consider using narcotics officers versus typical plainclothes officers in unmarked patrol cars.

* Set up adequate communications from the command post: Police managers need to communicate and coordinate covertly and securely with those officers remaining with the victim, the surveillance teams, and the technical officers.

* Monitor the victim's family: In the event the suspects return to the victim's home or the family withholds information or tries to make direct contact with the suspects, officers should remain with, and monitor, the victim's family and covertly cover the outside of the house.

* Plan for additional personnel: With multiple suspects, police managers should have additional personnel available to replace officers working the case to avoid exhaustion.

* Arrange for aerial assistance: When possible, airplanes or helicopters can prove invaluable for surveillance. Managers should consider having back-up aircraft available as well.

* Plan for logistics: Coordinators should ensure the availability of translators, cellular telephones, radios, extra batteries, portable tape recorders, and electronic tracking devices. When possible, officials should record the serial numbers of the ransom bills or arrange with the Federal Reserve Banking system to provide marked or recorded bills.

* Plan for a difficult ransom drop location: Suspects usually choose locations that are most comfortable for them. In these cases, this location is often within their ethnic community, which may impose additional difficulties for ground surveillance units. Police should consider using an electronic tracking device on the moneybag.

* Record keeping: For accurate case management and successful prosecution, detailed record keeping remains paramount throughout the investigation. Managers can use one of many commercial software packages available.