NCJ Number
76810
Date Published
1979
Length
47 pages
Annotation
Recommendations developed in a workshop designed to produce a national arson strategy are reported.
Abstract
An arson strategy was developed by the participants of three working panels on arson prevention and investigation, enforcement and prosecution, and statistics and research. Participants recommended that efforts focus on developing a better data base, faster and more effective reporting of fires and arson, and target-oriented research, so that strategic planning and tactical antiarson operations can be more effectively conducted. Also, since prevention of arson is especially difficult where vandalism and pyromania are the causative factors, initial emphasis should be on the area most amenable to action -- arson-for-profit. Moreover, the 34 States currently without immunity laws that would permit the insurance industry to cooperate with law enforcement should enact such laws, and the experiences of successful local arson task forces should be made available to fire and police services as well as to prosecutors and district attorneys. National standards and applicable training materials should also be developed and made available for the cross-training of arson task force members. An educational program for prosecutors should be developed, and arson detection equipment should be furnished to State and local crime labs to facilitate the proper analysis of arson evidence. The appendixes list members of the workshop panels and the workshop agenda.