There are many accidental or purposeful reasons for a fire to create damage to people and their properties. When a fire is purposely set to someone’s property, it is defined as arson. According to definitions introduced in encyclopedias, arson is a legal term that may vary between the existing jurisdictions (Fritzon, 2016). It is explained as an intentional fire for an unlawful purpose and a property crime that results in the damage of property and financial or emotional losses (Fritzon, 2016). An arson investigation is a complex and time-consuming process because it is not always easy to find out true evidence. In this essay, attention will be paid to the elements of proof for an arson fire, and the distinct psychological and economic motives. In addition, the background of a potential arsonist, the development of leads on the suspect, and the required artifacts to identify motives will be evaluated to understand better the nature of arson.
Elements of Proof for an Arson Fire
Arson is a type of fire with a number of elements that can be used as proof. As a rule, it is hard for investigators to gather enough facts and explain that arson takes place. A fire may be deliberate with particular harmful intent or accidental without an intention to damage property, a person, or other subjects. Therefore, court prosecutions that are based on arson or other types of fire are difficult to organize – a number of issues must be clarified. Arson investigations are conducted by an expert or usually a team of experts to define a cause of a fire and a responsible party. Firefighters are usually the first people who arrive at the site and do their work to control and stop a fire (Chi & Peng, 2016). Therefore, investigators must cooperate with these people to obtain in-depth knowledge of the event. They identify the details like the color of smoke or the condition of the environment and try to recreate the event that led to the fire.
As a result of such cooperation, the elements of proof for an arson fire are clarified. They include the amount of damage (usually large), evidence of forced entry, the condition of valuable items, and the presence of accelerants (smoke color or damaged sprinkler systems) (Davis & Bennett, 2016). One of the main tasks of investigators is to check the presence or absence of a “V” burn pattern and identify the “life” of the fire. It happens that some ignitable liquid residue is found to prove the nature of the fire as arson. Unfortunately, in the majority of cases, the fire destroys all actual physical proof. In addition, firefighters use chemical foam and water that also contribute to the destruction of evidence. Therefore, arson investigators try to communicate with fire experts to find out the origin of the fire, people around the site, and even the speed with which the fire was able to spread. Sometimes, a small detail from a firefighter may considerably simplify the work of an investigation team, and this chance should not be neglected.
Motives of Arsonists
One of the first questions that appear after the fire is proved to be arson is who could do it. It is important to find out a person who may be responsible for this damage and investigate the reasons for such an action. The time to work on the motives for an individual to commit arson comes. Investigators usually distinguish three types of motives, including social, economic, and psychological. Social motives may vary from vandalism to extremism, depending on the purposes to be achieved (Davis & Bennett, 2016). Investigators focus on the current situation in the city and analyze recent crimes, public concerns, or other events that may promote arson as revenge. However, socially motivated arsons are hard to predict or prosecute in courts because many people can be involved with their goals and intentions being poorly identified.
Economic motives introduce another group of causes that people may use to plan arson. According to Davis and Bennett (2016), profit-motivated arson is one of the types of fire that is committed for some direct or indirect material benefits. In this situation, a person or a group of people is economically motivated to plan and organize a crime. They expect to obtain some monetary refund or try to achieve some other goals that can bring benefits to their business. For example, a criminal may try to hide insurance fraud, destroy property without any legal concerns, or dissolve business relationships. Indirect economic motives can include competition (to find new customers by eliminating competitors) or employment (to damage property and make an owner build something new).
Finally, investigators should never forget about the presence of psychological motives of arsons. Fritzon (2016) underlines that firesetting is one of the least understandable criminal behaviors in the investigator’s practice. Sometimes, a person admires a fire as a process, and excitement turns out to be a serious psychological motive. One may be thrilled about emotions, panic, or other actions created by the fire setting. Sometimes, a firefighter or even a police officer can cause arson because of the need to be recognized as a hero and rescue sufferers or just to be observed by others. In the majority of these cases, criminals tend to be mentally ill and need professional help. Revenge is also an important psychological cause of arson in modern society. When people are not able to control their feelings and emotions, they do something terrible without thinking about consequences.
Arsonist Background
Taking into consideration emotional, psychological, and social motives, investigators should create a background of a person’s type who may commit arson. According to Fritzon (2016), poor designs and bad samples are frequently used to review firesetting behaviors, and children or young people turn out to be responsible for half of fires for investigations. At the same time, it is possible to create several appropriate backgrounds of a potential arson criminal. One of the examples includes “young, single males with interpersonal difficulties, unstable childhood, and early onset of criminal convictions” (Fritzon, 2016, p. 32). Mental illness among firesetters is also a frequent characteristic, and such problems like depressive disorder, schizophrenia, suicidal ideation, or a form of psychological treatment may be observed in a hypothetical criminal. In total, regarding the psychological motives and demographics, a young man with a mental disorder and a difficult childhood can be an arsonist.
Social and economic factors cannot be ignored in the creation of an image of an arson criminal. One of the recommendations for investigators is to focus on the members of current extremist groups. Their behaviors, recent activities’ participations, and public appeals may serve as evidence or, at least, a reason for committing a crime (Davis & Bennett, 2016). Finally, economic instabilities and business-related problems may provoke a person to set a fire. It can be a male or a female who has a business and works under the conditions without a promising future. Therefore, a common background of a person usually includes such demographic characteristics as a male or a female who is 12-60-year-old with a mental disorder or a serious economic challenge. At the same time, such factors as revenge or jealousy must be recognized in case the amount of damaged site is minimal, which tells about the intentions to intimidate or demonstrate feelings to a particular person.
Leads on Suspects
Behavioral and economic aspects of an arsonist divide suspects into several groups, and investigators should consider all the above-mentioned characteristics to know where to develop leads and find an approval to their guesses. For example, there is an economic motive for an arson fire. It means that an owner of a property has some financial problems, unexpected expenses, or unfavorable competitors. To check the possibility of this motive, investigators analyze financial reports of an organization, gather financial data of a person, and understand if any fraud takes place. Cooperation with insurance agents and auditors helps discover some facts about the past, the present, and the future of an organization whose building is destroyed or damaged by arson (Davis & Bennett, 2016). Insurance agents have access to policies that cover losses due to accidents. Forensic accountants reveal debts as one of the possible motives for a crime. Communication with stockholders is another way to develop leads on the suspect because these people may be aware of recent financial decisions and changes. The presence or absence of investors should be evaluated to understand if monetary rewards or losses have been recently observed.
If a poor psychological condition is a reason for arson, the investigators address local clinics, hospitals, and medical centers to gather enough information. Patients’ medical histories of mental disorders, current traumas, and treatment plans are the best sources to develop leads on suspects, compare their past and present behaviors, and predict if a health condition can be a reason for a crime. Other alternatives to develop leads may include neighbors who could observe something strange on the site, firefighters who arrive at the place first, or even a passerby who becomes an accidental witness (Chi & Peng, 2016). Nowadays, it seems to be normal for people to record fires or other accidents and share this information online. In addition, socially motivated arsonists like to demonstrate their achievements and speak about their intentions via Internet media sources. Therefore, surfing the web is a task that contributes to the suspect’s identification through IP address and host location.
Artifacts in Arson Investigation
Sometimes, there is an opportunity for investigators to search the residence or business of a suspect. This decision helps to predict the destruction of evidence or find a strong alibi. Artifacts that may serve as evidence can be unintentionally left or hidden, and the first task of an investigation team is to obtain a search warrant. As soon as the search is legally approved, it is necessary to comprehend what artifacts can be useful in this investigation.
One of the first places to check is a garage or a kitchen where similar accelerants may be stored. Trash cans around the residence are also the sources for the same artifacts. Computer checks will help to clarify if recent search procedures were connected with fires or similar topics. Burns on a suspect is another evidence to be analyzed. However, the presence of the above-mentioned artifacts and findings should not serve as a reason to arrest a person. It is important to check the dates of purchase (if possible) and ask particular questions (to clarify a situation).
Psychological motives of an arsonist may be proved by the presence of specific drugs or a medical certificate, which tells about evident mental health problems. Attention to photos or newspapers’ extracts in residence can indicate appropriateness of social or economic motives (a suspect knows or tracks a victim). Thematic books or journals in the house signalize about an increased interest of a person in this field, and suggestive questions about personal preferences or awareness of fires should be posed. Even several footprints serve as an artifact to prove the suspect’s relation to a crime. All artifacts must be saved and carried in airtight containers to make sure fingerprints or other signs are properly revealed.
Conclusion
Arson is one of the leading causes of property damage or loss. It is also a significant social and economic problem because of the existing motives for this crime. Therefore, in addition to the identification of arson causes, criminal investigators must learn the nature of motives and outcomes of the event. In general, arson investigation is a complex task that consists of specific steps to be taken and a number of people to be involved. The role of investigators is to identify people for cooperation like firefighters, insurance agents, or neighbors, gather the details about the fire, and search for additional artifacts and evidence outside the fire setting. People commit arsons because of different reasons, and sometimes, they remain unpunished due to the lack of evidence destroyed by fire.
References
Chi, J. H., & Peng, P. C. (2016). Application of investigation techniques to identify an arson fire. Journal of the Chinese Institute of Engineers, 39(5), 578-584.
Davis, M. R., & Bennett, D. (2016). Future directions for criminal behaviour analysis of deliberately set fire events. In R. Doley, G. Dickens, & T. Gannon (Eds.), The psychology of arson: A practical guide to understanding and managing deliberate firesetters (pp. 131-146). New York, NY: Routledge.
Fritzon, K. S. M. (2016). Arson. In W.G. Jennings (Ed.), The encyclopedia of crime and punishment (Vol. 1) (pp. 31-34). Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons.