NCJ Number
81355
Date Published
1980
Length
155 pages
Annotation
This report provides an overview of the arson problem in Massachusetts and the recommendations of the Arson Task Force regarding improvements in the areas of investigation, prosecution, insurance, housing, and lending.
Abstract
Statistics are presented to demonstrate the seriousness of the growing arson problem in Massachusetts. For example, property losses from arson amounted to $63 million in 1977, and fires of incendiary, suspicious, or unknown origin have averaged 5,000 annually for the past 5 years. Recommendations first address investigation and prosecution, emphasizing training for fire personnel in accurate cause determination and improved coordination between local, county, and State agencies and the insurance industry. In the insurance area, recommendations focus on ways to obtain more information about the properties and policyholders being insured and allowing the Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plan greater prerogatives in refusing coverage on properties or owners with high risk profiles. Other suggestions concern improvements in fraudulent claim investigation, increased cooperation between investigators and prosecutors in preparing criminal cases, and allowing insurers more cancellation prerogatives. Recommendations relating to the housing and lending markets attack problems caused by fluctuation and instability, such as building maintenance costs exceeding rental income in declining neighborhoods and the inflation of fair market property values. The Task Force urges compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act to ensure that conventional credit is available and that lending patterns are monitored. Also considered are the effects of poorly enforced housing codes, abandoned buildings, and public housing projects on arson. The report concludes with summaries of existing arson control efforts in Massachusetts and federally funded arson control programs. The appendixes contain a description of a proposed statewide arson prevention and enforcement system, papers on determining the actual cash value of a destroyed property, Massachusetts laws on arson, and profiles of arson incidents and arsonists.