NCJ Number
215822
Date Published
January 2005
Length
264 pages
Annotation
This report presents the findings from an evaluation of Britain's Arson Control Forum's New Projects Initiative, which was started in England and Wales in April 2001 to counter arson through a variety of interventions.
Abstract
Evaluation findings show that the New Projects Initiative has been well implemented and associated with significant reductions in the level of arson across a wide range of projects. Continued funding of the projects is recommended. Implementation was facilitated by strong partnerships and steering groups, as well as a focus on specific arson problems, which led to the efficient deployment of resources. An analysis of deliberate primary fires found that there were between 1,046 and 4,251 fewer fires as a result of the 14 projects. Regarding deliberate primary vehicle fires, there were between 672 and 2,690 fewer incidents following intervention in the 15 projects that showed an impact. There were 35 distinct types of intervention, with the most common being "capacity building" approaches, which were designed to strengthen the project team and its partner's ability to deliver arson-reduction activities. Awareness-raising interventions accounted for 29 percent of interventions. The components of the evaluation consisted of a process evaluation that examined what and how interventions were implemented; an impact evaluation that examined the extent to which interventions were linked with a reduction in arson; and a cost-effectiveness analysis that assessed the costs of achieving the observed impact. Extensive tables and figures and a site-by-site analysis