Kidnapping Trends and Case Studies from Asia to Africa

Australian resources companies operating in some African countries and other "new frontier" regions including parts of Indonesia and the Philippines are at increasing risk from the booming industry of kidnapping, according to international expert and former WA SAS officer Tim Curtis.

Mr Curtis is the managing director, international operations, for Unity Resources Group (Unity), an Australian company which advises on security and crisis management for major companies and in the event of a kidnapping works to help secure the safe release of victims.

He is in Perth to speak at a forum on Tuesday (August 27), on dealing with kidnapping and how to reduce the risk of it occurring. The forum will be co-hosted by Perth think tank Future Directions International and Unity Resources Group. Many companies with offices in Perth are now involved in activities in Africa and Asia.

Tuesday's forum at Perth's Government House will examine problems which families and companies face in dealing with a kidnapping. Mr Curtis and his team of security experts will draw on their collective experience of dealing with 1340 kidnapping and extortion cases in 70 countries. They will also focus on what companies and families can do to reduce the risks of kidnapping.

Future Directions International is an independent, not-for-profit Perth-based research institute. Chaired by former Governor General Michael Jeffery and headed by Major General John Hartley, it analyses the opportunities and challenges that Australia faces in the Indian Ocean region, in northern Australia, in minerals and energy exploration and whether we have a global food and water crisis and how this might affect Australia.