NCJ Number
127084
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 57 Issue: 12 Dated: (December 1990) Pages: 28-29,31,33
Date Published
1990
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Community pooling of resources is the most effective way to deal with the increasing problem of arson.
Abstract
Arson fires killed more than 1,000 Americans in 1989, and caused property losses estimated at $1.5 to $5 billion annually. In 1980, the New Orleans (LA) police and fire departments formed an Arson Task Force (ATF) to combat the problem. The coordination of the efforts and the blending of the strengths of both departments resulted in more thorough and effective arson investigation. Motives for committing arson include spite, revenge, the desire to cover up other crimes, pyromania, and fraud or arson-for-profit. A recent ATF investigation successfully broke up an arson-for-profit scheme involving the attempted fraud of $350,000. The incidence of arson generally increases during troubled economic times. Profit is increasingly the motive behind arson fires today as businessmen and homeowners who cannot stay afloat may try to benefit from insurance fraud. The insurance industry has taken a hard line against arson and in most cases assists arson investigators.