Arson

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Arson, the true cost

• Total cost of fire in England est. at £8.3bn• The cost of Arson was £1.7 bn (14%) of the total cost• This is broken down further as consequence £1,178m and cost for

response £524m• The Average cost of an arson incident is £8,978• The Association of British Insurers members pay out over £1.1bn

each year in fire claims• 45% of all fires are deliberate

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Arson Prevention Forum

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The Arson Prevention Forum is a strategic stakeholder body formed through a merger of the Government backed Arson Control Forum and the Association of British Insurers Arson Prevention Bureau.

APF strategic objectives

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• To identify the economic cost of arson.• To identify statistical trends and manage down the risk of arson.• To develop a national strategy to reduce deliberate fires

highlighting where specific focus of effort from respective partners will be most effective.

• To improve outcomes through the criminal justice system from identification, detection and prosecution of offenders.

• To deliver information to support communities, businesses and organisations through a refreshed website and channels of communication presented by partner organisations.

• To hold an annual conference to share good practice.• Engage effectively with communities to better inform the setting of

local priorities.• To produce an annual report and consider how and where this is

presented.

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Arson-psychological and sociological factors

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Scene Setting

• The forum has gained momentum over recent years and has backing from Ministers and the House of Lords

• The APF recently held a conference at the ESS to raise the impact of Arson• Lee Howell (independent Chair) utilised qualitative and quantitative data to

produce a ‘state of the nation’ report• The APF is represented by CFOA, NPCC, ABI, UK-AFI, as well as other

Key agencies

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Ministerial reporting

• Due to the engagement with Ministers, they have requested the minutes and section updates following each APF meeting.

• Areas identified are:– Lack of information shared between agencies, such as ABI and FPA to identify

the true cost of Arson– The Home Office have invited the chairman to the Anti-social behaviour Advisory

Forum– CFOA have committed to working closer with the NPCC to reduce the impact of

Arson– DCLG and Home Office are considering how national framework for FRS and

Police may be used to drive the agenda of Arson reduction

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Arson Statistics

• 69,000 Arson incidents per year

• 72% small outdoors• 13% vehicles• Fatalities – 80• Injuries – 1173• £1.7 Billion!

• Arson has an estimated conviction rate of 26%

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1,600

1,400

1,200

1,000

800

600

400

200

1,388

1,066

1,097 1,042

858 834

Criminal Damage Act 1971 { 1(1), 1(3) and 4 } Arson Criminal Damage Act 1971 { 1(2), 1(3) and 4 } Arson with intent / reckless as to whether life was endangered

0

2012 2013 2014

Interest in fire

• Unusual combination of danger and benefit

• Fire can be terrifyingly powerful and an unpredictable force capable of immense destruction

• The decision to use of fire over other means (Drabsch, 2003):

― The relative ease of lighting a fire

― Familiarity gained with fire during childhood

― Accessibility of fire-lighting tools and materials

― Fire’s capacity to symbolise power and domination and to generate fear

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Personality

• Disordered personality; May find it hard to:

―Keep close relationships―Get on with people at work―Get on with friends and family―Keep out of trouble―Control feelings―Listen to others

• Dialectical Approach

―Unable to see across a spectrum of emotions―Everything is either good or bad

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Mind-set

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• Perspective on the world - personality• Emotional regulation – anger,

contempt, fear, sadness, happiness, surprise, disgust

• Need for stimulation – sensation seeking

• Drugs and alcohol – prevalence, impact, and purpose

• Mental health• Internal conflicts, e.g., sexuality

The impact of Alcohol/Drugs

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• Impact on emotional state and decision-making

• Understand the likely influence on the commission of the offence or altering the baseline mental state

• Resulting in a more chaotic and opportunist appearing crime scene and a heightened likelihood of offender injuries

Motive

• Research outlines Revenge and Excitement as predominant motives for arson, however…

• This is based on an understanding populations of convicted arsonists

• It focuses the emphasis on the emotional benefit gained from the act of setting the fire

• Less understanding of the manifestations of wider motives• A increased need for index offence analysis performed on unsolved

cases, especially with fatalities

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Motive

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VandalismExcitementPyrophiliaIntolerable emotionRevenge

Crime concealmentProfit/financial gainExtremismProtest

Prevention

Early education and prevention is critical

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Early dysfunction

– Ego Triad

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Enur

esis

Cruelty to Animals

Fire-setting

Child fire setters

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Behavioural disturbance (ADHD, Hypersensitivity disorder); history of substance abuse (esp. alcohol); poor academic performance (truancy, suspension, general problems at school)Psychological disorder (conduct disorder, intellectual disability, personality disorder); suicidal ideationOnset around 5 years (12mths-14yrs) – Seven fires prior to detectionGreater numbers of antisocial acts than non fire-settersSocial services intervention (family dysfunction, prior delinquency); possible experience in care systemMotive: Expression of intense emotions – anger, attention-seeking, cry for help, boredomTarget: own home / residence, in company of others

(Fritzon & Doley 2008)

Progression to Pathological

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• Early modelling (exposure at young age to fire and fire tools)• Fascination and preoccupation with fire (incl. related activities –

bomb making)• History of repeated fire-setting• Fire-setting associated with intense feelings (anger / hatred

directed to victim)• Dysfunctional family (marital disharmony, parent-child disharmony)• Abuse (sexual, physical)• Absent Father (if present, marital discord)• Increased isolation from family and peers – teenage years• Gradual withdrawal from societal norms (petty theft, truancy,

disobeying parents and teachers)

Intervention

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NICE guidelines in relation to ‘Selective Prevention’ with conduct disorders for children and young people

At risk factors Youth training intervention and

related psycho-education and identification of underlying needs

Awareness of the developmental interest in fire and how motive / need can alter over time

Intervention

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• Provision of intervention focuses on the emotionally driven fire-setting rather than instrumental gain

• The majority of post-conviction interventions offered in secure (prison / forensic mental health)

• Problems in evaluation of programmes – reconviction

Recommendations

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• Crime Assessment and Interviewing

• Incorporating personality, motive, mind-set into an understanding of deliberate fire setting

• Cold case reviews• Fraudulent claims• Suspect strategies and

interview planning• Case building for court

Recommendations

THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATIONProtecting people, property, business and the environment Tweet your questions to #FSS15

• Training • Multi-agency civil and

criminal justice approach, e.g., – Teachers– Social services– Medics – Fire service– Police – Lawyers

Questions

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