Kidnapping or false imprisonment are both offences that involve the unlawful and intentional or detention of an individual against their will. Within kidnapping there are four separate elements to the offence, which are:

• The taking away of a person by someone else
• The use force or by fraudulent means (for example they are lied to about where they are going)
• There is no consent to be taken
• There is no lawful reason to take that person

False imprisonment is often combined with kidnapping because it occurs when someone intentionally causes the confinement of another person. So, the act of taking someone against their will is kidnapping but then continually holding them for any period of time is false imprisonment.