Arson

Arson

By Sofia

index

What is arson?

STATISTICS

thanks

Laws in the uk

notable cases

01

sO... WHAT IS ARSON?

• Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercraft, or forests.

• A common motive for arson is to commit insurance fraud. In such cases, a person destroys their own property by burning it and then lies about the cause in order to collect against their insurance policy.

aRSONISTS

• A person who commits arson is referred to as an arsonist, or a serial arsonist if arson has been committed several times.

• Pyromania is an impulse control disorder characterized by the pathological setting of fires, however most acts of arson are not committed by pyromaniacs.

02

How is arson prosecuted in the uk?

Courts should consider requesting a report from: liaison and diversion services, a medical practitioner, or where it is necessary, ordering a psychiatric report, to ascertain both whether the offence is linked to a mental disorder or learning disability and whether any mental health disposal should be considered.

Triable either way Maximum: Life imprisonment Offence range: Discharge – 8 years’ custody

Step 1 – Determining the offence category

THE COURT SHOULD ASSESS CULPABILITY AND HARM

cULPABILITY

The level of culpability is determined by weighing up all the factors of the case. Where there are characteristics present which fall under different levels of culpability, the court should balance these characteristics to reach a fair assessment of the offender’s culpability.

tYPES OF CULPABILITY

LESSER

HIGH

MEDIUM

• Some planning
• Recklessness as to whether very serious damage caused to property
• Recklessness as to whether serious injury caused to persons

• Little or no planning; offence committed on impulse
• Recklessness as to whether some damage to property caused
• Offender’s responsibility substantially reduced by mental disorder or learning disability
• Involved through coercion, intimidation or exploitation

• High degree of planning or premeditation
• Revenge attack
• Use of accelerant
• Intention to cause very serious damage to property
• Intention to create a high risk of injury to persons

hARM

The level of harm is assessed by weighing up all the factors of the case.

tYPES OF HARM

03

01

02

• Serious physical and/or psychological harm caused
• Serious consequential economic or social impact of offence
• High value of damage caused

• Harm that falls between categories 1 and 3

• No or minimal physical and/or psychological harm caused
• Low value of damage caused

sTEP TWO-Starting point and category range

Having determined the category at step one, the court should use the corresponding starting point to reach a sentence. The starting point applies to all offenders irrespective of plea or previous convictions.

EXCEPTIONS

Drugs and alcohol misuse

mental health

&

Where the offender is dependent on or has a propensity to misuse drugs or alcohol, which is linked to the offending, a community order with a drug rehabilitation requirement , or an alcohol treatment requirement may be a proper alternative to a short or moderate custodial sentence.

Where the offender suffers from a medical condition that is susceptible to treatment but does not warrant detention under a hospital order, a community order with a mental health treatment requirement may be a proper alternative to a short or moderate custodial sentence.

Culpability

Harm

Starting point: 1 year 6 months’ custody

Starting point: 4 years’ custody

Starting point: 9 months’ custody

Category One

Category range: 2 – 8 years’ custody

Category range: 9 months – 3 years’ custody

Category range: 6 months – 1 year 6 months’ custody

Starting point: 2 years’ custody

Starting point: 9 months’ custody

Starting point: High level community order

Category Two

Category range: 1 – 4 years’ custody

Category range: 6 months – 1 year 6 months’ custody

Category range: Medium level community order – 9 months’ custody

Starting point: Low level community order

Starting point: High level community order

Starting point: 1 year’s custody

Category Three

Category range: Medium level Community order – 9 months’ custody

Category range: Discharge – High level community order

Category range: 6 months – 2 years’ custody

The court should then consider any adjustment for any aggravating or mitigating factors:

STATUTORY AGGRAVATING FACTORS

• Previous convictions, having regard to a) the nature of the offence to which the conviction relates and its relevance to the current offence; and b) the time that has elapsed since the conviction

• Offence committed whilst on bail

• Offence motivated by, or demonstrating hostility based on any of the following characteristics or presumed characteristics of the victim: religion, race, disability, sexual orientation, or transgender identity

other aggravating factors

• Damage caused to heritage and/or cultural assets
• Significant impact on emergency services or resources
• Established evidence of community/wider impact
• Failure to comply with current court orders
• Offence committed on licence or post sentence supervision
• Offences taken into consideration

• Commission of offence whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• Offence committed for financial gain
• Offence committed to conceal other offences
• Victim is particularly vulnerable
• Offence committed within a domestic context
• Fire set in or near a public amenity

Factors reducing seriousness or reflecting personal mitigation

• No previous convictions or no relevant/recent convictions
• Steps taken to minimise the effect of the fire or summon assistance
• Remorse
• Good character and/or exemplary conduct
• Serious medical condition requiring urgent, intensive or long-term treatment

• Age and/or lack of maturity
• Mental disorder or learning disability (where not taken into account at step one)
• Sole or primary carer for dependent relatives
• Determination and/or demonstration of steps having been taken to address addiction or offending behaviour

Step 3 – Consider any factors which indicate a reduction, such as assistance to the prosecution

The court should take into account reduction in sentence for assistance to prosecution and any other rule of law by virtue of which an offender may receive a discounted sentence in consequence of assistance given (or offered) to the prosecutor or investigator.

Step 4 – Reduction for guilty pleas

The court should take account of any potential reduction for a guilty plea.

Step 5 – Dangerousness

The court should consider whether it would be appropriate to impose a life sentence or an extended sentence. .

Step 6 – Totality principle

If sentencing an offender for more than one offence, or where the offender is already serving a sentence, consider whether the total sentence is just and proportionate to the overall offending behaviour in accordance with the Totality guideline (The principle of totality applies when sentencing an offender for multiple offences or when sentencing an offender who is already serving an existing sentence).

Step 7 – Compensation and ancillary orders

In all cases, the court must consider whether to make a compensation order and/or other ancillary orders. The court should consider compensation orders in all cases where personal injury, loss or damage has resulted from the offence. The court must give reasons if it decides not to award compensation in such cases .

Step 8 – Reasons

Section 52 of the Sentencing Code imposes a duty to give reasons for, and explain the effect of, the sentence.

Step 9 – Consideration for time spent on bail (tagged curfew)

The court must consider whether to give credit for time spent on bail.

03

NOTABLE CASES

Local

steve fleming, chelmsford

Andrew Thorne, Great Chesterford

Has been charged with attempted arson with intent to endanger life, possessing an imitation firearm, two counts of criminal damage and five counts of assaulting an emergency worker.

Charged with 28 arson offences after a series of fires across part of Essex. Police said the fires were mostly in wheelie bins or dog waste bins, but one was on a train station platform and others in bus shelters and bushes.

HISTORICAL

jONATHAN mARTIN

mARGARET cLARK

Sunday 1 February 1829- he became upset by a buzzing sound in the organ while attending evensong at York Minster. He hid in the building, and then lit a lamp in the belltower. . Later that night, he set fire to the woodwork in the choir before escaping through a window. Smoke was seen coming out of the building at 7am on 2 February, and the fire was raging through the organ and choir by 8am.

1 February 1680- the Delanoy family were at their country home in Lee. Three fires were started in the house; they were put out by local people and Clark was arrested on the night after arousing suspicions by acting strangely. At first, she denied the charge but then quickly admitted arson. She claimed that she had been approached by John Satterthwayt in late January and he had asked her to let him into the house in order to set it on fire. Clark alleged that he had promised to pay her £2,000 (equivalent to £340,000 in 2021). Clark was detained and stood trial at Kingston assizes on 13 March. Clark was found guilty and sentenced to death.

USA- BOSTON

• 9 men, including 3 Boston cops and a Boston firefighter, burned Boston and surrounding communities in the early 1980s due to tax-cutting measures that caused layoffs of hundreds of police and firefighters. Over 2 years, these fire fighters turned arsonists, torched 264 buildings, causing millions of dollars in damages and hundreds of injuries.

04

sTATISTICS

0.8%

In the UK

During 2022, England & Wales's police forces received 496,760 crime reports about criminal damage and arson. This is an increase of 3.3% from 2021's figure of 481,062 reports of criminal damage and arson, giving an overall crime rate of 8 per 1,000 people in 2022 and a rate of 8 per 1,000 people for 2021..

Russian mystery fires are a series of unusual fires and explosions that have occurred since the invasion of Ukraine

worldwide

25%

OF ALL FIRES CAUSED BY ARSON

AROUND 90% OF BUSHFIRES BELIEVED TO BE RECKLESSLY LIT

WILDFIRES IN GREECE IN JULY WERE MAINLY ARSON

79 ARRESTED

Some statistics

>42%

0.71%

85%

Of arsonists are men.

Of arson affected structures.

Arson/criminal damge charges per 1,000 people in Essex.

05

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING

Arson, after all, is an artificial crime...A large number of houses deserve to be burnt.

H.G.WELLS

LAW SOCIETY DOES NOT CONDONE CRIMINAL DAMAGE, INCLUDING ARSON IN ANY WAY, FOR ANY REASON.

Got an idea?

Use this space to add awesome interactivity. Include text, images, videos, tables, PDFs... even interactive questions! Premium tip: Get information on how your audience interacts with your creation:

• Visit the Analytics settings;
• Activate user tracking;
• Let the communication flow!

Got an idea?

Use this space to add awesome interactivity. Include text, images, videos, tables, PDFs... even interactive questions! Premium tip: Get information on how your audience interacts with your creation:

• Visit the Analytics settings;
• Activate user tracking;
• Let the communication flow!

Got an idea?

Use this space to add awesome interactivity. Include text, images, videos, tables, PDFs... even interactive questions! Premium tip: Get information on how your audience interacts with your creation:

• Visit the Analytics settings;
• Activate user tracking;
• Let the communication flow!

Got an idea?

Use this space to add awesome interactivity. Include text, images, videos, tables, PDFs... even interactive questions! Premium tip: Get information on how your audience interacts with your creation:

• Visit the Analytics settings;
• Activate user tracking;
• Let the communication flow!