Arson Incidents in the UK Still At Shocking Levels

Shocking Levels

During an average week in England, there will be 1,600 deliberately set fires resulting in 50 injuries, two deaths, and a cost for taxpayers of £45 million. Over the past decade, these numbers translate into 25,000 injuries, 900 deaths, and a cost of £2.3 million. These figures do not take into consideration the emotional loss of broken lives, lost incomes, and the larger economic costs of lost wages and broken business.

Shocking Levels

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Who are the arsonists?

Arson is a crisis in the United Kingdom, with fire services, police, and government officials rallying to the public cry for action. According to Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman Matthew Taylor, who is one of the key speakers on this topic, nearly half of the legal proceedings involve under 18-year-olds with 89 per cent getting a caution.

Other types of arsonist have been identified by experts as revenge-seekers, thrill-seekers, and those using arson as a coping mechanism for emotional trauma. Revenge-seekers target people, companies, or organisations that they feel wronged them, while the victim might be completely unaware of any blame. Thrill-seekers simply start fire for the excitement of it and often choose random and available targets. Likewise, those using arson as a coping mechanism do not have specific targets. For these individuals, creating fires gives them a sense of control and the power to make something happen, and they typically do this because they feel they have no control in their personal lives.

Arson prevention

According to the Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service, arson is the biggest single cause of fires in England and Wales. Although it is important to maintain good fire prevention habits, it is more likely that a fire in your home or premises will be caused by arson. This is something unpredictable, so the best preparation is a sprinkler system to mitigate the damage. You can find information on fire prevention and protection on a site such as http://www.mainpoint.co.uk/, where you can also read articles on Gloucester Automist systems.

Arson levels are shockingly high. Nevertheless, since their apex in 2001, the number of deliberate fires in England have dropped 17 per cent to 67,900. Much of this is due to falls in deliberate home and vehicle fires. This is good news, but 679,000 per year is still a number that is way too high.

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