Police search for Birmingham kidnap suspect Jamie Rigg as scores of abductions reported in West Midlands

An alarming 180 kidnappings and abductions took place in the West Midlands from 2021 to 2022 - the second highest number after London.

The shocking data comes to light as West Midlands Police search for James Rigg - a 26 year-old man from Acocks Green who they suspect has committed a kidnapping.

Officers released an image of Rigg on their social media and said their investigations into his alleged offences are ongoing. But this is just one instance of a series of abductions across the region.

Using information from Freedom of Information requests to police forces across England and Wales the Sun reported that from 2021 to 2022, there were 180 children from West Midlands who were kidnapped while in London 288 kids were taken.

In one of the cases, a man from Sutton Coldfield, was jailed after he abducted a five-month-old child in 2019. James Dempsey, the kidnapper, was known to the child’s mother, according to BBC.

Who is kidnapping people in the West Midlands?

Between 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022, there were eight incidents of abduction of a child by a parent, according to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. There were far more child abduction incidents where someone other than a parent was involved during the same period. There were 42 child abduction instances where the kidnaper was someone other than the parent. Data shows that during that time, there were 29 victims under the age of 18 - who were abducted.

What are the reasons for the abductions in the West Midlands?

Another FOI revealed that from 2019 to 2021, most kidnapping cases fell into the categories of false imprisonment, forced marriage offences, and kidnapping in West Midlands.

For false imprisonment, there were 713 cases in that period. There were 18 forced marriage offences and 574 kidnapping incidents.

The number of women who were abducted was almost double than men. 630 women and 374 men were kidnapped during that time. The gender for the rest 301 kidnapping victims was not known.

What should I do if I’ve seen kidnapping suspect James Rigg?

West Midlands Police are appealing for anyone with information about James Rigg to contact them as soon as possible. The force said. “If you have any information that could help us find him, please contact us via Live Chat on the West Midlands Police website or call 101, quoting 20/770821/22,” they added.