A study of serial arsonists conducted by the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) began in 1988.
NCAVC was once the Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI, and the research project is funded by the FBI. So far researchers have interviewed over 40 imprisoned arson offenders and hope to interview a total of 100. The goals are: (1) to identify common characteristics of crimes committed by serial arsonists; (2) to explore characteristics that delineate common motives; (3) to identify techniques used to evade detection by law enforcement officials; (4) to determine what interviewing and interrogation techniques most successfully elicit an admission of guilt; (5) to identify what common backgrounds they may have with other violent serial offenders; and (6) to construct an artificial intelligence system that will consult arson investigators with the cumulative knowledge obtained from published literature, investigators' experiences, and this research project. The interview concentrates on the methods and the reasons for the violence, the pre- and post-offense actions taken, common links between childhood and adulthood, and the arsonist's own view of what crime prevention strategies are effective. 1 case summary