Kidnapping statutes do not give importance to the distance a kidnapped individual is moved, the duration of removal or place of detention. Courts have upheld kidnapping convictions based upon small degrees of confinement or movement. In this regard, it has been said that taking or confinement is a necessary element of kidnapping, not the distance of the taking or the time or place of the confinement.
However, in some states, to prove the crime of kidnapping the prosecution must prove that a person was unlawfully moved and, among other things, that the movement of the person was for a substantial distance.