Serious Offending: Arson

Question 1

How is arson defined under the Criminal Damage Act of 1971?

Answer 1

An act of attempting to destroy or damage property and/or doing so to endanger life

Question 2

What is the difference between deliberate fires and fire setting?

Answer 2

• Deliberate fires: Fires thought to be or suspected as intentional, including those set by individuals on their own property.
• Fire setting: Acts of juveniles below the age of criminal responsibility deliberately starting fires.

Question 3

What are the differences between primary and secondary fires?

Answer 3

• Primary fire: Occurs in a non-derelict building or vehicle, involves casualties, fatalities, or rescues, or requires five or more fire appliances.
• Secondary fire: All other fires, often less severe.

Question 4

How many cases of arson were reported in 2022, and how many resulted in fatalities?

Answer 4

69,000 cases, with 246 fatal fires.

Question 5

What characteristics are associated with adult fire setters?

Answer 5

• Most are male and generally young (though the age is rising).
• 45%–55% have previous convictions for crimes such as violence (20%), criminal damage (23.4%), theft (28.2%), or prior arson (5%–6%).

Question 6

What characteristics are associated with juvenile fire setters?

Answer 6

• Predominantly male.
• Fascinated with fire from an early age.
• Exhibit problem behaviours and disrupted education or family life.
• Influenced by psychological factors.

Question 7

What is the “MacDonald Triad” of violent behaviours?

Answer 7

1. Animal cruelty.
2. Fire setting.
3. Bedwetting.

Question 8

What is the association between arson and intellectual functioning?

Answer 8

Fire setters often have low intellectual functioning. Dickens et al. (2008) found that 88 out of 205 fire setters referred for psychiatric assessment had IQs below 85.

Question 9

What mental health characteristics are associated with fire setters?

Answer 9

• Younger age.
• History of fascination with fire.
• History of violence.
• Higher likelihood of institutionalization.
• 10% of forensic psychiatric patients have committed arson.

Question 10

What are the DSM-5 criteria for diagnosing pyromania?

Answer 10

1. Repeated deliberate fire setting.
2. Tension or arousal before the act.
3. Fascination with or attraction to fire and its aftermath.
4. Pleasure, gratification, or relief from fire setting.
5. Fire setting not motivated by monetary gain, ideology, anger, or impaired judgment.
6. Fire setting not explained by other conditions like conduct disorder or antisocial personality disorder.

Question 11

What did Lindberg et al. (2005) find about pyromania?

Answer 11

Out of 401 arsonists referred for psychiatric treatment, only 90 were repeat offenders, and only 3 met DSM-4 criteria for pyromania.

Question 12

What are Prin’s (1995) six typologies of arsonists and their motivations?

Answer 12

1. Mental illness: Severe mental illness; no clear goal.
2. Crime concealment: Destroy evidence; avoid detection.
3. Revenge: Retaliation against a person, group, or institution.
4. Profit-motivated: Financial gain.
5. Political: Disruption or attention-seeking for a cause.
6. Attention-seeking: Validation or recognition.

Question 13

How does Canter and Fritzon’s (1998) Action System Model classify arsonists?

Answer 13

Based on behaviours and motivations using two dichotomies:

1. Person-oriented vs. object-oriented.
2. Expressive vs. instrumental.

Question 14

What did early psychodynamic theories propose about arson?

Answer 14

• Freud (1932): Fire setting linked to sexual desire.
• Kaufman et al. (1961): Instinctual drives like aggression and anxiety explain fire setting.

Question 15

What is the learning theory explanation of fire setting?

Answer 15

• Exposure to fire imagery in childhood, such as in advertising and toys, may normalize or glamorize fire.
• Curri et al. (2003): Found 404 toys featuring fire imagery, with 97% marketed to boys.