Arson is “any willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, [or] personal property of another” (Bartol & Bartol, 2011. P 463). Arson comes in many forms – juveniles vandalizing property, businesses trying to collect insurance money, and murderers covering up their crimes are just a few of the examples arson investigators deal with. The reasons why arson is committed and the psychology behind arson are as diverse as the crime itself. There is no one perfect psychological profile of an arsonist. Young, old, educated, illiterate, sane, insane, rich and poor all can become arsonists. With such a wide range of suspect characteristics, …show more content…
A small percentage arsonists are driven by a mental condition known as pyromania, which is an irresistible urge to set fires combined with an intense fascination for flames (Bartol & Bartol). These fire setters claim they have no control over their fire setting impulses.
The Uniform Crime Report (UCR) published by the FBI gives a little better look of the profile of an arsonist, though not much. Only those fires that are determined to be deliberately set are included in the UCR, suspicious fires are not. In 2009, Motor vehicles and other mobile property accounted for 28.4% of arsons, 27.1% were arsons that involved crops, timber, fences and other such types of property, and the remaining 44.5% of arsons were those involving structures – residential, commercial and public.
With all of the different reasons for setting arson fires, as well as the large variance in profiles of arsonists, investigating them can be difficult. This difficulty is compounded by the amount of evidence than can be destroyed by the act of arson. Arson investigators must begin by trying to find the point of origin; a task that can be made very difficult by tossing aside the debris and damaged items while the fire is being fought (Swanson, et al. 2006). If arson is suspected, the point of origin can be a deciding factor in declaring a fire intentional, especially if the fire began in the center of the room
The police are usually the first people on the scene other than the fire services, depending on how long it will take for the fire trucks to arrive. When they are on the scene to ensure nobody gets too close to the fire and interview any witnesses that could be there. The police officer that arrives may be an arson investigator depending on the local police
By the time John Orr was convicted of four counts of murder for the South Pasadena hardware store fire, he had already served six years in prison. Orr was convicted of three counts of arson. At the end, Orr was convicted using his very own signature homemade incendiary device. Fellow firefighters began suspecting that the arsonist was one of their own after conference of arson investigators. During the conference period, an oddly large amount of fire broke out. During that time fires broke out in fabric shops, drugstores, and craft shops. At a craft shop in Bakersfield, California a fire broke out in a display of dried flowers. At the scene, investigators found charred remnants of what appeared a simple incendiary device — a filter-tipped cigarette and matches, held together with a rubber band. One of the devices was partially wrapped in yellow paper (Bovsun, 2014). Though many of the investigator believe this was the work of an expert attending the arson conference, it could not be proven.
There is quite a debate when it comes to the idea of controlled fires to protect nature. Many agree that the benefits out way the risks but many also believe that a controlled fire is too dangerous to take that chance. If proper steps are taken, the outcome of the process is not only safe but also effective.
In West Warwick Rhode Island, on February 20th, 2003, during the performance of the band Great White, a fire broke out that eventually claimed the lives of 100 people and injured an additional 200. The band’s tour manager arranged for, and ignited pyrotechnic props, large fireworks designed to display a shower of sparks. The sparks ignited foam soundproofing near stage. The fire spread quickly. Most were killed either in the crush to exit the building or overcome by fumes while trying to find an exit. The immediate cause was well documented due to witness reports and a videotape that was taken during the concert. In the period that followed the tragedy there were many attempts to fix blame. Following a Grand Jury
Cigarettes are one of the main cause of wildfires, the other is camp fires not being extinguished properly, that is 90% of wildfires are caused by human mistakes Joyce (2017). The Texas Panhandle is going through a drought, while everyone is praying for rain. Once a wildfire starts it is very hard to control, even with the hard-working fire fighters. There are many other helpful individuals that track the signs of wildfires, such as the National Park Service.
It was Jimmy Lee Bayliss who had done the arson. Torkelson and Marshall found Bayliss and Drake McBride with a rifle. Bayliss gave himself up, but McBride ran. McBride was eventually found a little
Firemen, while intimidating to the general public, are widely accepted and respected. This means that they serve as an embodiment of the public as a whole. In their hands fire is used to
The county fire marshal Alan Carson, saw the fire around 1.30 am and he defined the fire was a big one. Added that the weather and
They are different than regular crime scenes because fire scenes have a different procedure. Plus, most fires scenes don’t require a search warrant. This is because it can take a long time to get a search warrant but with fire scenes it is crucial to get the evidence as soon as possible because causes of the fire, like petroleum, can evaporate within days, or even hours of the fire. Also, they need to know how to prevent the fire from starting again and possibly injuring fire fighters or other emergency responders.
Fires can either be natural or anthropogenic, which can depend on any situation. A study conducted in 2004 on a wild fire at Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota, suggests that the fire can
For years if not decades, firefighters have responded to a reported structure fire that turned out to be a fully involved single room. This fire scenario requires a core set of fire tactics and skills to control and extinguished the fire, but is it this simple? Perhaps twenty years it may have been, but new dangers are lurking in every scenario and may have detrimental outcomes for unsuspecting and unaware firefighters and victims. The National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) agency along with the Underwriters Laboratory (UL) have been conducting research to understand fire behavior and fire dynamics. This research is providing firefighters with new information about how and why
This essay will attempt to explain arson by applying the criminological theory of subculture theories. The Oxford dictionary defines arson as ‘the criminal act of deliberately setting fire to property’. Brake suggests a subculture is like ‘a culture inside of a culture' (Brake, 1985). A culture is defined by Williams as ‘a particular way of life which expressed certain meanings and values not only in art and learning but also in intuitions and ordinary behaviour’ (Williams, 2012).
The first things you should do when demonstrating what writing order for the arson unit is knowing how the personal items for each and every arson investigator should have on them. Besides, every arson investigator should have personal items made available to them to carry and that includes protective clothing such as hardhats, fire resistant overalls, steel-capped boots, thick gloves, and a face mask. Supplies of gas and electricity should be switched off before the investigation begins. When specializing in these items for arson investigators to carry you should have certain types of containers that will not alter the chemical properties of the accelerants and shatterproof eye shields protecting them from the fire debris. “Teach and practice
While arson is defined as the intentional and malicious setting of fire to a building, land, a vehicle, or other property with the intent to cause damage, arson for profit is the intentional and malicious setting of fire for financial again, often with the intent to commit insurance fraud (U.S. Fire Administration, 2009. The scope of arson for profit ranges from individuals using arson to escape an unwanted car loan to business ventures that buy property for the sole purpose of burning them to collect the insurance (U.S. Fire Administration, 2009). The end results of these types of insurance scams can generate over one billion in annual insurance pay-outs (U.S. Fire Administration, 2009). Arson for profit also results in “lost housing, tax dollars, and jobs, and more costly government services” (Goetz, 1997, p. 562).
Pyromania is an impulse control disorder that causes a person to continuously fail to fight the urge to start fires. The word “pyromania” comes from the Greek word pyro which means fire. Pyromania is different from arson, because arson is the intentional setting of fires. Pyromaniacs start fires to get a feeling of pleasure, and often to fixate on organizations of fire control like fire stations and firefighters. Pyromania is relatable to other disorders like kleptomania and others.