NCJ Number
55257
Date Published
1974
Length
223 pages
Annotation
THE POLICE OFFICER'S ROLE IN INVESTIGATING ARSON AND ACCIDENTAL FIRES IS DISCUSSED, WITH ATTENTION TO VARIOUS TYPES OF FIRES, ARSONISTS, AND APPROACHES TO TYPICAL AND SUSPICIOUS INCENDIARY INCIDENTS.
Abstract
ALTHOUGH TIPS ARE PROVIDED ON HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN ACCIDENTAL AND NONACCIDENTAL FIRES, THE NARRATIVE FOCUSES PRIMARILY ON PYROMANIACS, ARSONISTS, AND THE DYNAMICS OF ARSON INVESTIGATION. COMMON TYPES OF FIRE SETTERS ARE DISCUSSED (I.E., PSYCHOPATHS, JUVENILES, FEMALES, ATTENTION SEEKERS, AND PROFESSIONAL ARSONISTS), ALONG WITH THEIR CHARACTERISTIC TYPES OF ARSON, INCLUDING REVENGE FIRES, INSURANCE FIRES, AND FIRES SET TO OBSCURE ANOTHER CRIME. INVESTIGATORY APPROACHES TO SELECTED FIRE SITES, VACANT BUILDINGS, MOTOR VEHICLES, FIELDS AND WOODS, AND AIRCRAFT, SHIPS, AND SMALL-CRAFTS, ARE DISCUSSED, AS ARE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS FOR THE INVESTIGATOR, THE PRINCIPLES OF FIRST AID FOR FIRE VICTIMS, THE INVESTIGATOR'S LAW ENFORCEMENT FUNCTION, AND THE ROLE OF POST MORTEM EXAMINATIONS AND SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS, EXPERIMENTS, AND ILLUSTRATIONS. INVESTIGATING FALSE ALARMS AND ELECTRICAL FIRES IS ALSO DISCUSSED. PHOTOGRAPHS ILLUSTRATE THE TEXT. A SUMMARY ENDS EACH CHAPTER AND A GLOSSARY AND INDEX ARE INCLUDED. (KBL)