NCJ Number
87986
Date Published
1981
Length
45 pages
Annotation
The four different contexts or levels, in which arson-for-profit occurs are insurance fraud, management fires to remove undesirable tenants, transition fires, and urban planning policies causing land to suddenly increase in value if vacant or redeveloped.
Abstract
Insurance fraud fires are set to create a gross profit from insurance coverage. At the second level, a tenant-landlord problem or other landlord problems leads to the conscious decision to burn a building. Transition fires are set because factors going beyond landlord or tenant control create a situation in which arson seems to be the only way to stop loss and generate cash flow. At the fourth level, urban planning policies cause land to become more valuable either vacant or redeveloped for a new use than it is built and occupied. Fires at this level are for barrier removal, industrial development, gentrification, and landbanking. The manual describes examples based on actual cases, gives indicators and research tailored to the specific indications and type of fire, and notes appropriate community intervention responses. The basic research model is outlined for insurance fraud fires. It involves investigating the landlord and the potential payoff by visiting the tax assessors office to find building and land values and utilities usage; the registry of deeds; the tax collector's office to research tax arrearages, abatements, and amounts; the housing inspection and health departments for sanitary code violations; and various other offices; as well as canvassing tenants and neighbors. Community intervention and prevention can succeed to stop arson, as evidenced by organized tenant/community groups in Rhode Island, Boston, and New York City.