Chapter Summary

• Arson is a highly dangerous and costly offence both financially and in terms of human suffering. Arson can lead to loss of life, horrific injuries to survivors, high levels of damage to residential and commercial property and environmental damage.
• Some arsonists set only a single fire, however spree arsonists set several fires within a short period of time, typically hours, while serial arsonists set many fires over a much longer period.
• Pyromania is a morbid fascination with firesetting and included in some classification systems of mental disorder. It is a rarely found in practice.
• There are several motivations for arson including concealing a crime, economic reasons (including financial gain), excitement, political, revenge and vandalism.
• There is some concern that media portrayals of fire may influence some young people have a view of fire that minimises the harm it can do and maximises the ‘fun’ element.

Reading List

Dickens, G. L., Sugarman, P. A., & Gannon, T. A. (Eds.). (2012). Firesetting and mental health. London: RCPsych Publications.

Fessler, D. M. T. (2006). A burning desire: Steps toward an evolutionary psychology of fire learning. Journal of Cognition and Culture, 6, 429–451.

Kennedy, P. J., Vale, E. L. E., Khan, S. J., & McAnaney, A. (2006). Factors predicting recidivism in child and adolescent fire-setters: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, 17, 151–164.

Kolko, D. (Ed.). (2002). Handbook on firesetting in children and youth. New York: Academic Press.

Prins, H. (1994). Fire-raising: Its motivation and management. London: Routledge.

Weblinks

Arson Control Forum (ACF): www.arsoncontrolforum.org.uk

Australian Institute of Criminology (with section on bushfires): http://www.aic.gov.au/crime_types/property%20crime/arson.html

Psychology of firesetting: http://www.psychology.org.au/inpsych/psychology_firesetting/

Study Questions

Open Questions

What's the difference between a primary fire and a secondary fire?

Are there any significant childhood factors that distinguish the arsonist from other offenders?

Do the images of fire used in the media give children the wrong idea about the dangers of fire?