NCJ Number
80862
Date Published
1980
Length
51 pages
Annotation
This report describes State laws governing criminal arson and arson reporting immunity, along with legislation which enables municipalities to recover back taxes and/or demolition expenses on insured properties damaged by arson.
Abstract
An overview of the arson problem covers property and indirect economic losses from this crime, motivation, investigative difficulties, and its low arrest and conviction rates. The discussion of criminal arson laws begins with early common law definitions and then examines the model statutes which provide the basis for most State laws: the Model Arson Law published by the National Board of Fire Underwriters in 1948 and the Model Penal Code drafted by the American Law Institute in 1960. Also presented is a more recent model law prepared by a group of insurance associations. Selected State laws are then reviewed to show differences in defining arson, distinguishing among degrees, and addressing arson-related crimes such as the death of a person as a result of the fire and arson-for-profit. The report then considers laws which extend immunity in civil actions to insurance companies who release information on a policyholder to law enforcement agencies investigating suspected arson. Ohio was the first State to pass such legislation in 1976 and the Alliance of American Insurers has since drafted a 'Model Arson Immunity Bill.' The summary of selected State laws in this area covers what agencies may request information, reciprocity between law enforcement officials and insurance companies, mandatory reporting of suspicious fires by insurers, and penalties for failure to comply with immunity laws. Questions that a legislator should ask when drafting criminal arson and immunity laws are included. Finally, laws adopted by seven States requiring owners to pay back taxes or demolition expenses before the insurer pays a claim on destroyed properties are analyzed. All were intended to remove some of the profit motive from arson crimes and control city decay, but differ in procedures for filing a lien, the monetary amounts of claims subject to a lien, the type of property, and the cause of destruction. The report provides statutory citations for all State laws and the texts of the model codes and legislation. Recent New York and Illinois laws relating to back taxes and demolition costs in claims against fire insurance are appended.