Arson

Question 1

What is arson?

Answer 1

The malicious, willful burning of a building or property

Question 2

What is arson a combination crime against?

Answer 2

Persons and property

Question 3

What are the 4 classifications of fire?

Answer 3

Natural, accidental, incendiary, and undetermined

Question 4

True or False: Fires are presumed natural or accidental unless proven otherwise.

Answer 4

True.

Question 5

What is natural fire?

Answer 5

One caused without direct human action or interventions

Question 6

Name at least one example of a natural fire (doesn’t have to be specific)

Answer 6

Fires caused by lightning, earthquakes, or other natural events

Question 7

Can natural fires also be set by people? Why or why not?

Answer 7

Yes. Natural fires also include fires set intentionally to destroy refuse (garbage), weeds, or waste products in industrial processes to provide warmth.

Question 8

What is an accidental fire?

Answer 8

Any unintentional fire.

Question 9

Name at least one example of an accidental fire (doesn’t have to be specific).

Answer 9

A fire ignited by faulty wiring, leaking gas, carelessly tossed cigarette, overheated Christmas tree lights, children playing with matches, etc.

Question 10

What is another word for incendiary fire?

Answer 10

Arson

Question 11

What is an incendiary fire?

Answer 11

A fire ignited intentionally and maliciously under the circumstances in which the culprit knows that the fire should not be set.

Question 12

What is a common purpose of incendiary fires?

Answer 12

Destroying property or buildings

Question 13

What makes arson cases especially difficult?

Answer 13

Proof must be obtained the fire was not natural or accidental.

Question 14

What is a fire of undetermined origin?

Answer 14

A fire may be classified as undetermined for two reasons: 1) there is no evidence to indicate it was natural, incendiary, or accidental and 2) simply cannot be proven

Question 15

Laws have now extended arson to cover…

Answer 15

crops and the burning of one’s own property

Question 16

Though the crime of arson varies in different states, what are 3 common elements of the crime?

Answer 16

1) Willful malicious burning
2) Of another’s property or one’s own to defraud
3) Causing to be burned, or aiding, counseling, or procuring such burning

Question 17

Should you show a motive even if it’s not required by law?

Answer 17

Yes.

Question 18

What is the prime element in corpus delicti (body of crime)?

Answer 18

Burning. There must be more than one exposure to heat, although flames do NOT need to be visible nor the property destroyed. There must also be sufficient heating to the ignition point.

Question 19

What are the classifications of arson?

Answer 19

Simple, aggravated, attempted, negligent

Question 20

What is simple arson?

Answer 20

Arson (by fire or explosives) that does not create imminent danger to life or risk of bodily harm.

Question 21

What is aggravated arson?

Answer 21

Arson by fires, explosives, or other infernal devices that create an imminent danger to life or great bodily harm in which the risk was known/reasonably foreseeable to the suspect.

Question 22

Who is often the prime suspect of arson?

Answer 22

The victim.

Question 23

What is a requirement of proving attempted arson?

Answer 23

You must show that the fire would have occurred except for some intervention.

Question 24

What is a negligent fire?

Answer 24

A fire that burns/gets out of control through culpable negligence, creating an unreasonable risk and the likelihood of damage or injury to persons or property.

Question 25

Who is mostly responsible for negligent fires?

Answer 25

People who leave smoldering campfires that cause forest fires.

Question 26

The Model Arson Law was written and promoted in the 1920s by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). According to this, what are the four degrees of arson?

Answer 26

1st degree: burning of dwellings 2nd degree: burning of buildings other than dwellings 3rd degree: burning of other property 4th degree: attempting to burn buildings or property

Question 27

Describe the typical male arsonist.

Answer 27

Raised in a broken/unstable home, with an extensive criminal history, below average intelligence, unmarried, socially maladjusted, or a loner, unemployed or working in an unskilled position, and is intoxicated at the time he sets the fire

Question 28

Describe the typical female arsonists.

Answer 28

Arsonists who usually burn their own property, female arsonists can typically be described as self-destructive, mentally defective, older, lonely, unhappy, and often have some psychotic problems, primarily schizophrenia

Question 29

Who are the predominant victims of juvenile firesetting?

Answer 29

Children. They account for 85% of victims.

Question 30

What are the statistics of juvenile firesetting?

Answer 30

Fires set by children and youth claim about 300 lives and destroy more than $300 million worth of property annually.

Question 31

What is the difference between fireplay and firesetting?

Answer 31

Fireplay conveys little intent to inflict harm and an absence of malice; rather, it involves curiosity and fascination.

Question 32

What are the 4 categories of firesetting?

Answer 32

1) Curiosity/experimental 2) Troubled/crisis 3) Delinquent/criminal 4) Pathological/emotionally disturbed

Question 33

What is a curiosity firesetter?

Answer 33

Mainy children between the ages of 2 and 10 who experiment with or cause accidental fires.

Question 34

What is a troubled/crisis firesetter?

Answer 34

Mostly boys of any age whose firesetting represents underlying psychosocial conflicts.

Question 35

What are delinquent/criminal firesetters?

Answer 35

Adolescents between 13 and 17 with a long history of undetected firesetting who start fires as acts of vandalism or malicious mischief, but always with intent to destroy.

Question 36

What are pathological/emotionally disturbed firesetters?

Answer 36

Firesetters of any age and any gender who typically display a chronic history of behavioral or social problems. Their actions result from psychosocial conflict and may be random, ritualized, or with specific intent to destroy property.

Question 37

What are common motives for arson?

Answer 37

Revenge, vandalism, crime concealment, profit and insurance fraud, extortion, pyromania, alcoholism, and mental retardation.

Question 38

What are strikers?

Answer 38

Also known as vanity arsonists, strikers are arsonists who try to obtain profit by stimulating business, eliminating business rivals, or securing employment.

Question 39

What is the MOST common motive for arson?

Answer 39

Revenge (insurance fraud comes second)

Question 40

What are 3 reasons professional torches extremely difficult to identify?

Answer 40

They have no link to the fire, the victim is the main suspect, and a guilty victim will typically have an ironclad alibi.

Question 41

Why might an unintentional firesetter not come clean?

Answer 41

They're too embarrassed to admit it or fear that insurance will not cover the loss.