The prevalence of arson: England and Wales fire statistics
UK Fire Statistics
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/fire1.html
The Home Office Fire Statistics for England and Wales are compiled from the fire report forms completed
by the fire brigade for every fire that they attend during the year. However, the
fire brigade is not called out to every fire that occurs – many are relatively small,
cause little damage and are dealt with by members of the public with recourse to the
assistance of the brigade. This under reporting means that the full extent of the
arson problem is quite likely to be underestimated.
The Home Office define arson attacks as ‘malicious fires’ and includes those where
malicious or deliberate ignition is merely suspected and recorded by the fire brigade
as ‘doubtful’.
Trends
Fire service data shows that there has been a continued long-term increase in the
number of deliberate fires attended by the fire service. It is suggested that this
may be due in part to better fire investigation techniques by brigades and the concerted
effort to move away from attributing the cause of fire as “unknown” in recent years.
Nevertheless, these factors alone probably do not account for the very steep upward
movement in the number of malicious or deliberate fires.
In 1989, there were 38,700 fires started deliberately, representing about one-quarter
of all primary fires. By 1999, this had risen to a total of 91,000 deliberately set
fires - an increase of 135%. This compares to a 25% increase for the overall number
of primary fires and a 12% decrease for accidental fires over the same period. A large
proportion of the increase is attributable to deliberate car fires as this category
has increased by almost 200% since 1989. Over the same period, this compares with
increases of 39% in deliberate fires in other buildings; 54% in dwellings and 65%
in other outdoor fires.
The graph below illustrates the level of deliberate primary fire-setting for the
period 1989 and 1999 by type.
Regional variations
Analysis of fire service data by fire brigade area shows that deliberate fires
are highly concentrated in the metropolitan brigades. Almost half of all deliberate
fires within England and Wales were concentrated within the seven metropolitan areas.
The number of deliberate fires as a percentage of total fires showed that all the
metropolitan brigades recorded over half of all fires as deliberate started (except
London where 40% of all fires were deliberate). West Yorkshire (63%), Merseyside (60%),
South Yorkshire (59%) and Greater Manchester (58%) recorded the highest rates. However,
the highest rate nationally in 1999 was in Cleveland (64%) – a non-metropolitan brigade.
South Wales (61%) recorded the highest rate in Wales. Other high rates among non-metropolitan
brigades were recorded by Nottinghamshire (57%), Avon (55%) and Humberside (55%).
In contrast, the lowest recorded rates were in Devon (28%) and Cornwall (24%).
The variations in fire service data are mirrored in recorded police data. Arson
offences are concentrated in the metropolitan areas with 43% of all arson fires being
recorded in these localities.
There are also wide variations in the clear up rate across the police force areas.
The national average in 1997 was 16%. Only 12 police forces cleared up more than one-fifth
of all recorded arson offences. The forces with the highest clear up rates were Dyfed-Powys
(38%); Cheshire (36%); Lincolnshire (34%) and Wiltshire (30%). Amongst the lowest
were Northumbria (12%); the Metropolitan Police Service (11%); Merseyside (11%); West
Yorkshire and Cleveland (9%).
(Source: Arson Scoping Study)
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/fepd/arson.pdf
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