Definition of Acrson - Essay Example

Introduction The arson, as per the explanation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 'is any willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, withor without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property of another etc'(Nancy, 1997). As per the statistics revealed by the public agencies, more than one hundred thousand incidents of the arsons were registered to the law enforcement agencies in different parts of United States. The religious hated have also attributed to the rise of the arson related cases, and there have been cases where the culprits have damaged the religious property for the sake of prevalence of the truth. The damage to the religious places and the justification of such heinous actions through misinterpretation of the religious teachings has been responsible for the clash between communities with different racial, religious and cultural customs. The arson is not responsible for the fatality of the life; rather it caused economic loss, which has to been accounted by the administration in efficient and effective manner. The arson is no longer a hidden crime; rather it is regarded as the 'murder by fire, a violent crime against property and people' (Nancy, 1997). According to reports, more than seven hundred people are killed on annual basis due to the arson crime; the crime is responsible for causing damage to more than hundred thousand buildings, and cost loss of more than a billion dollar annually (Larry, 2006). Partnership of Deterrence towards Arson According to Mr. Carrey Brown, U.S. Fire Administrator, 'there are, however, effective ways citizens, along with law enforcement and the fire service, can ensure the culprits are brought to justice' (Barry, 2004), thus the solution to the crimes associated with the arson can be rectified through proactive role and crucial efforts of the law enforcement agencies. The different forms taken by the Arson include, 'juvenile fire setting, vandalism, pyromania, a murder weapon, and concealment of a crime' (Barry, 2004), and the elimination of the problem is achievable through identification of the right faces of the arson. According to United States based national arson expert and chief of arson, Detroit Fire Department, Mr. Charles Evancho, 'Arson is one of the most difficult crimes to prosecute successfully. Often the criminal justice system does not view arson as a serious crime. The challenge is to develop sentencing for adults and juveniles' (Barry, 2004). The government agencies have launched several financial schemes which focus upon the financial provisions for the elimination of the arson. The United States government based agency provided '$2 million to 12 states to develop anti-arson programs' (Barry, 2004). The institutions have been established for the rehabilitation of the youth, with no parents and guardians. Recently 'USFA granted financial support a juvenile fire setter prevention program in partnership with a treatment center for abused children, the plan was implemented in Colorado. The intellectuals are of the opinion that public and private funding and participation is required to continue with such schemes, and it is important to realize that arson has to be controlled and handled 'several fronts and people must protect themselves by strengthening prevention and apprehension efforts' (Barry, 2004). Arson is regarded as the 'second leading cause of residential fire deaths and accounts for approximately quarter of the fires incidents reported in the United States' (Barry, 2004), the crime shares one fifth of the damaged property in United States. According to reports, the crime claimed more than seven hundred lives on annual basis, and more than half a million fire incidents related to arson are reported. Only fifteen percent of the cases were able to reach conclusive stage where the arrests are made. It has It has been a common observation that the rate of arson is low in rural areas, whereas the in urban areas, the arson related incidents have reached alarming figure. In less than twenty percent of the arson related cases, the law enforcement agencies were successful in the arrest of the culprits. The statistics revealed more forty six percent of the captured arson culprits were juvenile. The spirit of the youth is difficult to control, and the behavior of the youth has great variance, therefore the presence of the variation and the difference of perspectives eventually resulted in the gulf of the religious ideologies between different segments of the society, and one such segment has been the practicing arson. The statistics revealed that more than twenty thousand arrested arson culprits were charged of arson i.e. the most serious offense. The population of the youth in the arson related crime caused great discomfort to the law enforcement agencies, 'arson was the criminal offense with the greatest portion of juveniles in the arrestee population' (Barry, 2004). The crime is common among the males, the charged and accused males accounted for more than eighty percent of the total arson related arrests, the population of the white juveniles is around is eighty percent, whereas around seventy percent of the accused were juveniles under age fifteen, and more than thirty percent of the accused were below younger than twelve years. Arson has emerged as a leading cause of fire in the fire incidents identified and reported to the fire department of the United States. Considering the overview of particular states of the country, Chicago is the place where the arson fires have emerged as the leading cause of fatalities, and has accounted for one-sixth of the fire incidents. In New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Columbia, the percentage of the reported fire incidents due to arson has been less thirty percent (Larry, 2006). More than thirty percent of the youth accused of arson charges 'replaced in a residential facility' (Larry, 2006). In normal practice, when the arson case is registered in the court with juvenile jurisdiction, it is determined whether the case has to be handled in the formal or informal manner. The decision in this regard is based on the 'severity of the offense, the youth's law-violating history, and the ability of the parties involved to come to a mutually agreeable response' (William, 2006). Informal case handling occurs without the filing of a petition, and even 'without the need for an adjudicatory or waiver hearing, and without a formal court order requiring the youth to comply with specified sanctions' (William, 2006). According to the reports, more than fifty percent of the registered juvenile arson cases were disposed by the courts. Less than two percent of the cases registered under the title of the arson were later shifted to the criminal court. The youth has been 'adjudicated delinquent' (William, 2006) in more than sixty percent of the formally registered complainants and cases related to the juvenile arson. According to the statistics, 'most adjudicated youth i.e. sixty percent were ordered to a term of probation, thirty percent were placed in a residential facility, and most of the others were ordered to pay a fine and/or restitution. Previously, less than fifty percent of the cases registered at the juvenile courts were treated in an informal manner. Out of the registered cases, approximately fifty percent of the cases were dismissed, whereas 'in the other half of these informally processed cases, youth voluntarily agreed to comply with probation conditions, pay fines or restitution, and/or enter some form of residential treatment' (William, 2006). Counter Measures The Clinton administration established National Arson Initiative in 1996, which was established to 'response to the increasing number of church arsons occurring throughout the United States' (Gail, 2006). In this regard, the Church Arson Prevention program was launched 'to help United States develop and implement comprehensive church arson prevention programs and to mobilize communities to work together to prevent more church arsons' (Gail, 2006). The fundamental and significant feature of the Church Arson Prevention program has been to incorporate the provision for the local governments, and civic groups, so that the execution of the training and technical assistance activities can be executed focused upon church arson prevention activities. The arson has been serious offence, and preventive measures have been adopted to 'enhance the capacity of the regional and local jurisdictions for development of the community-based strategies to prevent church arson'. The focused area of the institutions related to law and order has been to 'expeditiously handle state and local governments' (Gail, 2006) requests for training and technical assistance', and develop coordination with the Federal agencies including Federal Emergency Management Agency for providing training and technical assistance, not particularly associated with the church arson. It is important to take severe measure which focus primarily upon the creation of the community based prevention plan, such techniques have further helped in the implementation of the strategies which have resultantly strengthen the prevention schemes. The threats and incidents relevant to the church arsons, and serious notice are taken of the suspicious activities within the church. In this regard several schemes have been launched in the form of 'training in church arson prevention, community outreach and public awareness training, and strategic planning assistance for local communities, civic groups, and churches', 'the average financial loss in arsons reported to law enforcement was $11,300' (Gail, 2006). References 1. Gail B. Stewart. Arson. Lucent Books. 2006. pp. 78. 2. Nancy E. Gist. Church Arson Prevention Training and Technical Assistance Program. U.S. Department of Justice. 1997. pp. 24. 3. Larry J. Siegel. Criminology. Thomson Wadsworth. 2006. pp. 176. 4. William Jerry Chisum, Brent E. Turvey. Crime Reconstruction. Elsevier. 2006. pp. 180. 5. Barry A. J. Fisher. Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation. CRC Press. 2004. pp. 79. Read More