Arson
- criminal damage act
- criminal justice system
- fire & rescue service
- Police 2012/13
- FRS England/Wales
- 3 cats
- violent offence?
- legal term from Criminal Damage Act- whether life endangered.
- Criminal Justice System define as “property offence”.
- Fire & Rescue Service- “arson fire” deliberate/malicious ignition suspected not necessarily proven.
Police 2012/13- 19,306 cases arson reported
FRS England/Wales- 45% fire attended were deliberate- however it’s hard to count.
3 categories:
1- Simple Arson.
2- Arson with Intent Danger Life.
3- Reckless Arson.
Arson violent offence from Psychological perspective depends:
1- Motivation
2- Psychological Characteristics of perpetrator.
Fire Setting
-broader- all instances of setting fire, irrespective if resulted in criminal charges.
Literature Caveats
- Brett 2004
- Daykin & Hamilton 2012
terms poorly defined- A & FS often used interchangeably.
- differing methodologies.
- operationalised poorly/differently per paper.
- intent often hard to gauge.
Brett 2004- big fire just small fire that got out of control.
maj of literature done on convicted arsonist- very small population of arsonists.
Daykin & Hamilton 2012- detection & conviction is very low.
Common myths
- pyromania
- Rice & Harris 1991
- Lindberg et al 2005
- sex
- Rice & Harris 1991
- Prins et al 1985
Pyromania- mental disorder. Most serial arsonists not pyromaniacs.
- very specific DSM-V criteria needed very low reported rates.
- criteria include: pleasure/gratification/relief from fire setting. -no monetary gain. -tension or affective arousal before the act.
Rice & Harris 1991- <1%
Lindberg et al 2005- 3%
Sexually motivated fire setting- it’s very very rare.
Rice & Harris 1991- 6/243 males in psychiatric institution.
Prins et al 1985- 133 arsonists on parole board- 0 sexually motivated.
-some research link b/w sexual abnormality in general rather than specifically related to fire setting.
Arson Recidivism (repeated acts)
- Brett 2004
- Hurely et al 1969
- Koson et al 1982
- Rice & Harris 1991
- Virkkuen et al 1996
-rates vary.
Brett 2004- 4 - 60%
Hurely et al 1969- 10%
Koson et al 1982- 38%
Issues- variation in definition of recidivism
Rice & Harris 1991- “lighting multi fires”.
Virkkuen et al 1996- “within defined follow-up period”.
Characteristics of arsonists
-Dickens & Sugarman 2012
Dickens & Sugarman 2012- summary:
-male, low socio-e status, unemployed, low educational lvl, single, 18-35 y/o, mental illness/personality disorder, low self-esteem, lack assertiveness & appear anxious, low IQ.
Predisposing factors?- family history- antisocial behaviour & childhood disturbances.
- quite general could apply to many subgroups of offenders.
- issue what treatment?- hard Q, treat like other offenders?
Characteristics of arsonists
- Gannon & Pina 2010
- Labree et al 2010
- Rasanen et al 1995
- Stewart 1993
Gannon & Pina 2010- FS often poor communicators/social difficulties- use as coping mechanism or solve prob.
Labree et al 2010- arsonists v other severe criminals.
- increased Impulsivity, decreased Superficial Charm, decreased Juvenile Delinquency on PCL-R.
Rasanen et al 1995- suicide more common arsonists v other criminals. 75% reported suicidal thoughts.
Stewart 1993- female fire starters less common but same characteristics as male.
Subtypes
- Lindberg et al 2005
- Ducat et al 2015
- Harsley
- Fritzon et al 2001 -ASM
Lindberg et al 2005- Pure & Non-Pure arsonists.
-define them.
Ducat et al 2015- non-pure most common & male more common.
Harsley- maybe pure are diff to other offenders compared to non-pure- therefore maybe tailor treatments to subtype.
Fritzon et al 2001- Action System Model
- categorises arsonists- 4 pattern matrix
- act on Instrumental (external) or Expressive (internal)
- -to get
- Objects (external) or Persons (internal).
Typologies
-early attempts categories often due to motivation in 1950s = many probs with these typologies- led development of Multi-Factor Theories and Single Factor Theories (ITs).
Single Factor Theories: ITs
-O’Ciardha & Gannon 2012 (5)
Implicit Theories- based on Cognition
-ITs= Belief System- influence how act/interpret the world.
O’Ciardha & Gannon 2012- ided 5 ITs for fire setters
(only paper of this nature)
-it’s common like fire but need other characteristics.
1- Dangerous World- hostile ppl, can’t be trusted.
2- Normalisation of Violence- acceptable way deal with ppl.
3- Fire Powerful Tool- send clear msg.
4- Fire Fascinating- thrilling, soothing, mesmerizing.
5- Fire Controllable- escape in time or only affect intended target.
(1,2,= more general, 3,4,5= fire specific).
Multi-Factor Theories (2)
- Jackson
- Fineman
-until recently only 2 viable theories of fire setting.
1- Jackson’s Functional Analyses 1987
2- Fineman’s Dynamic Behaviour Model 1995
=a lot overlap b/w both.
-both view arson as product of development experiences & reinforcement contingencies, including previous experiences of fire.
Functional Analysis Model- Jackson et al 1987
- (4)
- Gannon & Pina 2010
- attempt explain Recidivist arson as well as 1st time offenders.
- certain antecedents + certain consequences = repeated fire setting.
1- Antecedents
- a- Psychological Disadvantages (neglect, low self-e)
- b- Dissatisfaction with Life (depress/anx)
- c- Social Ineffectiveness (nobody notices or cares)
2- Specific Psychosocial Stimuli- e.g. previous exposure to fire- can be diff to unpick.
-e.g. mum throw fav toy into fire= lead belief- fire powerful tool, good hurting ppl, destructive.
3- Triggering Stimuli- e.g. undesired situation.
-interpersonal prob- lost job/broke up- then fall back on belief.
4- Consequences- provide pos/neg reinforcement.
- e.g. gain attention, protection or feel better.
- draws on SLT- pos/neg reinforcement- cycle repetition.
Gannon & Pina 2010- limitation is unclear which combination of factors culminates in facilitating other forms of fire setting.
- talks about social influences & self-control.
- some components are speculatory
Multi-Trajectory Theory of Adult Fire Setting (M-TTAF) 2012
- (2 tiers)
- (5 prototypical)
- Dalhuisen et al 2017
-theory knitting approach of 2 theories + added more.
2 tiers:
- i- background factors relevant to fire setting.
- ii- proposes 5 prototypical fire setting trajectories:
1- Anti-Social Cognition- general criminal lifestyle with no specific fire interest.
2- Grievance- motivators revenge/retribution, no particular interest in fire.
3- Fire Interest- fascinated by fire- psychological arousal.
4- Emotionally Expressive/Need for Recognition- cry for help, self-harm/suicide, need social recognition- communication includes political acts.
- 2 sub categories:
- i- unable voice needs through other means IMPULSIVE.
- ii- use fire to comm NOT IMPULSIVE- may preplan fire setting to enhance status.
5- Multi-Faceted- general criminality but also interested in fire.
Eval
Dalhuisen et al 2017- test validity MTTAF.
-389 fire setters, hospital Netherlands- found partially valid but would benefit from more theoretical basis.
–need more diverse & larger sample but found it useful guide & prioritise aspects of treatment.
better over Jackson
1- organises current research into dynamic risk factors
2- unification distal & proximal factors contributing FS
3- id key factors associated recidivist arson
4- trajectories- general criminality & fire specifc
Recent Research
-Horsley 2018
Horsley 2018- qualitative, sample 13 convicted arsonists
-interviews, audio-recorded, transcribed, analysed using Ground Theory.
- explored experiences of illegitimate fire use
- -anti-socially/malicious (legit= non-violent/prosocial)
- model is work in progress.
(see model)
- impact on arousal lvl, release of emotion, provided resolution to prob= relatively short-term.
- talked if fire setter & themselves were diff ppl- very separate.
- impacted both pos & neg on their self-esteem.
- hate arson label due how think ppl perceive them
- -impact self-esteem, lead minimization & distance themselves.
Treatment
-Rice & Chaplin 1979
Rice & Chaplin 1979- social skills training in hospitalized male arsonists.
- Behavioural Role-Playing- sig improvements.
- -1 year follow up= no further fire setting behaviour.
