Fires 2 - Arson, Legal Liability and Redox Chemistry Flashcards
List five reasons for arson
- malicious destruction of property
- insurance fraud
- attempt to harm a person (revenge)
- juvenile disorder
- mental health and psychological problems
Why are many arson fires started?
in attempt to destroy evidence (fingerprints, fibres, DNA evidence) of a different crime at the scene however mitochondrial can withstand really high temperatures but it is harder to profile
What are three common settings for arson?
What % of arsonists are male?
vehicle fires
theft locations
dwellings (to destroy physical evidence and victims death)
90 %
What are four important statistics about arson in the UK?
- largest cause of major fires in UK
- leads to deaths, injuries and damage
- costs in damages values £2.8 billion annually
- holds a maximum life sentence judicially
What were arsonists responsible for between 1992 and 2002?
over 900,000 primary fires
28,000 injuries
1,100 deaths
What are the key messages from arson in UK?
detection and conviction rates are low and lot of youth arson
only 8 % of arson cases in 2003/4 resulted in suspects being identified and subsequently cautioned, charged or summoned in court, only around 15% of these found guilty and sentenced through magistrates court (66 % < 18) and around 15 % found guilty (11 % < 18)
What was set up in 2001 by UK government?
What was its primary directives?
What was its primary bodies?
What was its outlined target? Was this met?
Arson Control Forum
- chaired by HM chief inspector of fire services
primary directives: reduce arson related deaths, injuries and damage
primary bodies: Kent FRS, MET police, HM government, department of health, UK trade and investment, department for business innovation and skills, home office, ministry of defence, HM revenue and customs, local government associates, Aviva (insurance companies)
reduction of deliberate fires by 10 % by 2010. target was met as there was a 50 % reduction in arson by 2010
What is the correlation between low income households, arson, and likeliness to die in a fire?
when compared to those on average incomes, low income households suffer rates of arson 31 x more and are 16 x more likely to die from a fire
How did the ACF achieve successfulness in meeting the target?
Why were they so successful?
- education
- combatting arson supports government action on social exclusion
- invested £2.25 million in local arson initiatives (2001-3)
- invested £9.3 million to 66 local initiatives to address arson, £3.3 million to 29 car clearance schemes and £4.6 million to 24 arson task forces (2003-6)
spent resources from government but spent them in a very targeted manner to cause maximum impact
What did ACF commission research into to improve understanding?
- motivation of arsonists
- links between vehicular arson, abandoned vehicles and other vehicle crime
- found social exclusion was most correlated thing with someone being an arsonist
- why arson prosecutions ‘fail’ (if make arson prosecution a deterrent it will prevent arson crimes)
What has happened recently with ACF?
- since 2013 rebranded to arson prevention forum
- has been scaled down with reduced government funding
In 2017, how many fires attended by FRS in England and were deliberate? How many deaths did this cause?
How does this compare to 2014/15?
How many successful prosecutions? Compared to previous decade?
47 % and 47 deaths
11 % increase in deliberate fires
44 % increase in deliberate road vehicle fires
19 % increase in deliberate other building fires
1242 / 21,961 successful prosecutions
worst in last decade
In 2018, how many fires attended by FRS in England and were deliberate? How many deaths did this cause?
How does this compare to 2011/12?
What was insurance claim total?
50.5 %
up 15 % since 2011/12
Insurance claims total £1.2 billion, with a total economic impact of £5-11 billion
What fires can still carry a legal liability?
What does this apply to?
Give 3 examples of these types of fires?
fires that can be considered accidental in nature (no malicious intent) can still carry a legal liability (and criminal proceedings)
apples to original cause and of fire and any factors assisting to its spread
1 - infringement of safety legislation and regulations (COSHH)
- unlicensed storage of fuel or other flammable substances, storage in unsuitable containers or excessive quantities
2 - neglect - failure to exercise an employers ‘duty of care’
- failure to undertake safety inspections e.g. checking for peroxide crystals
3 - fire caused as a consequence of committing another crime
- illegal bypassing of gas meters
- use of unqualified gas fitters (corruptly awarded by local council)
define ‘combustion’
the process of burning
a chemical change especially oxidation, accompanied by the production of heat and light.
