ARSONISTS
AND FIRESETTERS
"Fire makes for a good servant, but a bad master" (Roger L'Estrange)
Arsonists are a varied group of offenders who come
from different backgrounds, but the common denominator is that they take
enjoyment out of seeing things destroyed by fire or burning.
They even take joy in the aftermath of a burning; i.e., after things have been
burned. The emphasis on burning is clearly evident in the FBI definition of arson as "any
willful or malicious burning or attempting to burn, with or without intent to
defraud." As DeHaan (2002) points out, the burning is started with malice.
There is a specific intent to destroy property. Likewise, the term "firesetting"
(typically reserved for describing juveniles or adolescents) conveys a sense of
malicious intent (usually in chronic, repetitive behavior) far greater than the
term "fireplay" (typically reserved for young juveniles) which conveys a lesser
degree of malice or intent (Putnam & Kirkpatrick 2005). Note also that
the law specifies "willful" in conjunction with malicious, so this means that,
at least in terms of legal definitions, there is a presumption that all
perpetrators of arson are sane.
That being said, most juvenile
fire-setting is usually a product of antisocial personality (Forehand et al.
1991) while juvenile fireplay is usually a product of curiosity or recklessness
(Cox-Jones et al. 1990). Adult arson is usually a product of vanity or
egocentricity (Orr 1989). When the perpetrator is male, the motivation is
more cold-blooded or instrumental; and when the perpetrator is female, the
motivation is more hot-blooded, emotional, or affective (Gannon 2010).
Professor James Ogloff, director of the Centre for Forensic Science at Monash
University in Australia, says the profile of a typical fire setter is male, late
teens/early 20s, unattractive, unmarried, shy, socially isolated, and with lower
intelligence. About a third of perpetrators have co-morbid psychiatric
conditions including schizophrenia, and mood and/or personality disorders
(usually narcissism).
About half have prior criminal convictions. One of the more curious
clinical characteristics is the apparent lack of motive (typically reserved for
the so-called pyromaniac). No arsonist shows remorse, but only the
pyromaniac lacks conscious motivation although they are fully aware of the acts
they are committing. It's as if their mind "blocks off" or conceals
short-term memory of whatever rational thought they put into their devious
plans. For this reason, clinicians often characterize the motivation as a
combination of pathological and non-pathological.
For both arsonists and fire setters, fire is
an instrument of power and a weapon on choice. It is the
instrument
they believe helps them get ahead in life or at least create a sense of
control
and/or power that they find absent in their lives. It is for this
reason
that most perpetrators come from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Such
people look upon
fire as the ultimate weapon, the kind which can be used for both
instrumental
and expressive purposes. Setting a fire for instrumental purposes (to
achieve a goal) has been less studied than setting fire to fulfill some
pathological, expressive need. It has been found that arsonists and
firesetters have co-occurring psychopathologies, such as antisocial
behavior,
sexual promiscuity, substance abuse, and cigarette smoking; and that
these
correlates have far more predictive validity than the ones once thought
associated, like bedwetting and cruelty to animals (Slavkin 2000).
Most psychological profiles are drawn from clinical
assessments of captured offenders (Kolko 2002), and by best estimates, may only
account for 40% of all known offenders. Also, it is usually admitted that
significant overlap may exist between "types" of offenders. For example,
the clinical literature recognized four (4) types of firesetters, as follows:
-
curious -- uses fire out of fascination
-
pathological -- uses fire out of
deep-seated individual dysfunction
-
expressive -- uses fire as a cry for help
or to vent emotions
-
delinquent -- uses fire for antisocial or
destructive ends
The most common overlap is between the expressive and
delinquent types. The distinguishing characteristic may be stress. A
truly "expressive" type would likely have accumulated enough stress in their
life (or led an uneventful life) so that they seek to vent frustration.
However, such motives are also typically associated with vandalism and
shoplifting, and it is unknown why some choose one path over another. A
truly "delinquent" type enjoys the power which comes from seeing a substantial
reaction or response, such as the arrival of police and fire departments (Macht
& Mack 1968). Curious types can be easily persuaded about the dangers of
firesetting. Pathological types need treatment, and there is some
controversy over what is the best mental health treatment.
Among adult arsonists,
pathological types are not impossible, but most typological efforts have been
restricted to sorting out key types which are significantly different from the
pyromaniac (Lewis and Yarnell 1951; Rider 1980), as follows:
-
jealousy motivated -- uses fire to get
back at some insult to his vanity
-
pseudo hero -- uses fire to rush in and
make a rescue, save a life, etc.
-
fire buff -- like a police groupie, only
with firefighters
-
excitement oriented -- uses fire out of
boredom (like the expressive type) and simple methods
-
pyromaniac -- uses fire repeatedly as a
kind of neurotic obsessive-compulsive behavior
PYROMANIA
The definition of pyromania has
changed considerably over time. One of the many paradoxes in criminology
is that pyromaniacs have long been seen as acting without any "apparent motive."
Clearly, it involves an impulse control problem, and often, a pyromaniac will
tell you that they didn't really want to hurt anybody or destroy anything; they
simply wanted to achieve their "high" of fascination by watching something burn.
There is much we don't understand about pyromaniacs. Geller et al. (1997)
say that to make a psychological diagnosis of one, they must meet five criteria:
-
deliberate firesetting on multiple occasions
-
tension or arousal before setting the fire
-
feeling of relief or pleasure while setting the fire or watching afterward
-
an
intense interest or obsession with fire and its associated characteristics
-
absence of any other motivating factors (e.g., money, revenge) for setting
the fire
Holmes and Holmes (2009) provide a good overview of
the common elements in the profile of a typical pyromaniac, adapted as follows:
|
Profile of a Pyromaniac
|
| Age, Race, Gender,
Intelligence |
ages 16-28, White, Male, range
from mental defective to genius |
| Physical defects, Mental
disorders |
frequently present, psychopathy, obsessive-compulsive
pattern |
| Academic adjustment |
underachiever, some intellectual brightness, but
performance marginal |
| Family background |
unhappy home life, harsh, inconsistent, or neglectful
parenting |
| Social class background |
most from middle or upper levels, some lower |
| Social, marital, sexual
adjustment |
severe interpersonal problems, poor marriages, sexual
maladjustments |
| Occupational history |
resentful over only having had subservient positions |
| Criminal history |
delinquency, runaway, burglary, theft, other property
offenses |
| Personality |
misfit, feeble, a physical coward, feelings of
inadequacy, introverted, reclusive, lonely, wounded self-esteem, craving
for power and prestige, inability to express remorse, ambivalent toward
authority |
| Motives |
desire to be center of attention, render themselves
useful, and show themselves clever |
| Triggering events |
accumulation of stress, frustration, tension, loss of
employment, death of loved one, threat to sense of potency |
Pyromaniacs typically set fires in haste or in a
disorganized manner (although organized, older types exist who use elaborate
incendiary devices), and are also known to enjoy setting off false alarms.
Their activity is nocturnal. They have little regard for human life; i.e.,
it doesn't matter if the property is occupied or not. At the time of
setting the fire, pyromaniacs would describe a kind of trance-like state comes
over them, almost as if they were controlled by an external force. After
setting the fire, pyromaniacs would describe a sense of relief. Some enjoy
playing detective at the fire scene. Most, except for the
jealousy-motivated or revenge-oriented types, will frequently return to the
crime scene. Some even turn themselves into the police. They often
readily confess or admit guilt, although they express no remorse or regret.
They are usually cooperative under arrest.
SERIAL ARSON
Other researchers (Kocsis & Cooksey 2002) have tried
to narrow down the profile of a serial arsonist. There are not only many
kinds of offenders, but multiple offenses by the same offender. Arsonists
typically commit nearly a hundred arsons before getting caught. Numerous
motives compel arson: financial reward, politics, concealment of another crime,
attention seeking, revenge, and anger. A fundamental tenet of behavioral
profiling is that if you know the what and why, the who will follow. Therefore,
sometimes behavioral profilers are called in to testify during an arson trial.
They usually present research findings which suggest a profile of the typical
arsonist as someone who may be seriously mentally ill and/or intoxicated at the
time of the offense, which can be argued as mitigating responsibility. A
full-blown pyromania defense (or claim of pyromania) doesn't work in court.
That's because, in the forensic setting, pyromania is quite rare. It's far
better to simply use the phrase "serial arsonist," but the
characteristics for that are somewhat different. Sapp et al. (1997) found
most serial arsonists were white males around the age of 27, with a tenth grade
level education and almost all had prior arrests and convictions. Below is a summary of
the emerging profiling characteristics for serial arsonists:
|
Profile of a Serial Arsonist
|
AGE: 10-14 (26%), majority under
18 (51%) if adult, late 20s, never over 35 if adult, revenge or profit
motive
SEX: 9 out of 10 times (90%) a male; if female, revenge type
RACE: 3 out of 4 times (75%) a white; black (20%) of time if
first-timer; Native Americans 3rd largest group
CLASS: majority from lower to working class; middle class if vandalism
or excitement
IQ: vast majority subnormal (70-90) with 22% in retarded range (below
70), rare genius
FAMILY: absent or abusive father, history of emotional problems with
family/mother; single (65%)
SCHOOL: learning problems and usually held back a grade in school,
normally in 10th grade; younger (grades 6-8) if vandalism; despite lack
of formal education, may be of average to above average intelligence
however
PEERS: social misfit, interpersonal problems with opposite sex, appears
physically and emotionally weak compared to peers; but often does manage
to involve an accomplice in arson (20%)
WORK: usually chooses subservient position and then resents it (both
ambivalent and resentful toward authority-repressed); unemployed if
vandal, excite, or profit; otherwise a laborer
CRIMINAL HISTORY: numerous status offenses as juvenile, property crimes,
almost all have arrest records
DRUG/ALCOHOL: not usually a problem, but involvement with
SEXUAL HISTORY: 25% report being homosexual or bisexual
MENTAL: lack of remorse may appear as psychopathy, but more typically
result of obsessive-compulsive disassociative trance-like state during
firesetting
ARREST: majority remain at crime scene except revenge, conceal, profit
types; some (25%) attempt suicide in lockup; most easily confess thru
cooperation
The SIX MAIN TYPES ACCORDING TO THE FBI CLASSIFICATION MANUAL:
ARSON FOR REVENGE (41%) - precipitating factor is a real or imagined
affront that occured months or years ago; attack is focused on
individual rivals, a business chain, schools, or some facilities
connected with offender
ARSON FOR EXCITEMENT (30%) - precipitating factor is boredom, (sexual)
thrill cycle, or need for attention; attack is focused on large or
outdoor targets, like parks, construction sites, arenas, as well as
residential areas
ARSON FOR VANDALISM (7%) - precipitating factor is family disturbance or
peer pressure; attack if usually focused on educational facility as well
as residences and outdoors
ARSON FOR PROFIT (5%) - precipitating factor is a recent financial loss
which triggers an urge to cheat the insurance company, recoup a bad
investment, or dispose of some depreciated assets
ARSON FOR CRIME CONCEALMENT (10%) - precipitating factor is a desire to
cover up some other criminal activity, such as auto theft or murder
ARSON FOR EXTREMISM (7%) - precipitating factor is to further a
social, political, or religious cause, or to burn down buildings
associated with specific races or religions
|
Serial
arson is defined as an offense involving three or more fires with a significant
cooling off period between the fires. The exact length of this cooling off
period is unknown. Douglas et al. (1997:186-7) say the cooling off period
may last days, weeks, or even years. Serial arson is also different from
double arson, triple arson, spree arson, and mass arson. What all these
different types have in common is the repetitive nature of the crime.
SAMPLE INTERVIEW WITH A SERIAL ARSONIST
I
(Interviewer): What do you think gets kids in trouble?
O (Offender): From the minute they're a baby and they grow up they see
what their family does and what their family does they're going to do.
Parents think they are helping a kid by beating them, but it makes them
worse.
I: Do you feel your problems stem from the way your father punished you?
O: Yeah, for example, once when I was 6 or 7, I saw a can of red paint in
the garage, and I drew a red stripe down the side of the neighbor's car.
Now I could see getting a spanking for that, but not for little things
like "Hi Dad, what's for lunch?"
When I was little I was always asking questions, and Dad would just give me a
smack and say "Don't bother me".
I: What was your mother like? Did she love you?
O: When I was 3 my mom left because he abused her. I saw him knock her
teeth out, slam her against the wall, and he took me and my brother and rammed
our heads together to knock us out.
Mom eventually came back all the time after stuff like this, but he was too
abusive to let her show her love.
I: Was peer pressure a factor is what you did {a string of 16 serial
arsons aimed at business establishments, schools, and churches}?
O: No, I wasn't talking much to anybody, but that's what I wanted to do.
I wanted to be with the "in" crowd, but they were too rowdy.
I: Have you experimented with drugs?
O: I've seen kids commit murder and things like that while needing drugs,
like crack. I used to take it
myself. You get high for about a minute or two, then depressed, and then it
makes you feel dirty and not wanted and things like that. It makes you feel
YUCK.
I: Was lack of money a big problem with you and your family?
O: You know, kids see themselves and their family not having much and
other people having it and making it, and it's a strong feeling inside.
Everyone wants money, and there's all kinds of wrong ways to get it, but
you can't get greedy, you know, or you'll get caught.
I: What importance did school and church play in your life?
O: School sucks and makes you stupider and stupider.
There ain't no learning going on.
Sometimes the teacher treats you like "Well, just sit there if your hands
hurt and you can't write an assignment" or they give you something stupid to do
just to get you out of their way.
Church never really was a factor in our family.
Mom was religious a bit, but we never went to church.
I: What do you think causes a fascination with fire?
O: Well, it's probably a lot
of things. People telling you you're
good for nothing, seeing everything around you getting worse and worse.
Torching a place kind of lets you feel good for awhile, like you're
somebody important. It's also a
natural high in itself. You never know how bad it's gonna get and it does bring
people out to clean up the community.
I: Did you do it for the fun, revenge, or what?
O: Different reasons. It's enjoyable, you know. Different people like to
do different things. Some like to
steal or beat people up, and what I did helped me at the time to sort through
what passes for a so-called life.
There's lots of other bad stuff I could've done, but I didn't.
There's a lot of work involved in picking a place to torch and how you're
gonna do it.
I: What do you think about the people you killed and hurt {One of the
offender's fires killed a business owner who was sleeping inside; two fires
resulted in serious injury}? Do you feel any remorse?
O: They weren't supposed to be there, but if they were, they should've
gotten out of the way. I can't
control everything, and I guess I'm sorry, but nobody understands the extremes
you go through once you start doing this stuff and how solid your reasons are
for doing it.
I: What do you think would help prevent this kind of behavior in other
people?
O: I dunno, maybe more money poured into the community, less crazy stuff
on TV. You know, I can point to
music videos and certain TV shows which helped give me ideas.
There's just too much bad stuff out there, and too few choices for
anything else.
A COMPARISON OF ARSONISTS AND RAPISTS
|
Arson
-Nation’s fastest-growing crime.
-50% of all fires (incendiary & suspicious), determined by ruling out
other factors: electrical, accidential, natural, unknown
-Legal elements: burning, intent, malice
-Characteristics of "firesetters":
AGE: 10-14 (26%), majority under 18 (51%) if adult, late 20s, never
over 35 if adult, revenge or profit motive
SEX: 9 out of 10 times (90%) a male; if female, revenge type
RACE: 3 out of 4 times (75%) a white; black (20%) of time if
first-timer; Native Americans 3rd largest group
CLASS: majority from lower to working class; middle class if
vandalism or excitement
IQ: vast majority subnormal (70-90) with 22% in retarded range (below
70), rare genius
FAMILY: absent or abusive father, history of emotional problems with
family/mother
SCHOOL: learning problems and usually held back a grade in school,
normally in 10th grade; younger (grades 6-8) if vandalism
PEERS: social misfit, interpersonal problems with opposite sex,
appears physically and emotionally weak compared to peers
WORK: usually chooses subservient position and then resents it (both
ambivalent and resentful toward authority-repressed); unemployed if
vandal, excite, or profit
CRIMINAL HISTORY: numerous status offenses as juvenile, property
crimes, almost all have arrest records
DRUG/ALCOHOL: no problem
MENTAL: lack of remorse may appear as psychopathy, but more typically
result of obsessive-compulsive disassociative trance-like state during
firesetting
ARREST: majority remain at crime scene except revenge, conceal,
profit types; some attempt suicide in lockup; most easily confess thru
cooperation
TYPES other than concealers or for profit (who
constitute 22% of total):
ARSON FOR REVENGE (41%) - precipitating factor is a real or imagined
affront that occured months or years ago; attack is focused on
individual rivals, a business chain, schools, or some facilities
connected with offender
ARSON FOR EXCITEMENT (30%) - precipitating factor is boredom,
(sexual) thrill cycle, or need for attention; attack is focused on large
or outdoor targets, like parks, construction sites, arenas, as well as
residential areas
ARSON FOR VANDALISM (7%) - precipitating factor is family disturbance
or peer pressure; attack if usually focused on educational facility as
well as residences and outdoors
ARSON FOR PROFIT (5%)
ARSON FOR CRIME CONCEALMENT (17%)
|
Rape
-One of world’s first felonies; for many years, only crime to have a
nonconsent factor; filled with cultural overtones
-Statistics misleading: time clock method estimates beating against
woman every 20 seconds, rape every 20 minutes
-Apprehension rates high and conviction rates low
-Nonreporting problem before "shield laws"; estimates were that less
than 10% of rapes were reported
-Fairly constant 15% false reporting rate
-Characteristics of rapists:
AGE: 75% under age 25, 80% under age 30; over 30 if sadistic type
SEX: male normally 100% of the time
RACE: Vast majority are black (75-90% of rapists in prison are
black); crime tends to be intra-racial; rapists are usually unarmed; 1
in 4 times (25%) uses a knife or instrument.
CLASS: majority are from poverty-lower class backgrounds
IQ: majority in normal range 90-110
FAMILY: sibling history more important than family history, may have
been sibling bed sharing, overt sexual behavior in family with siblings
and/or (sadistic) mother; lack of support from (absent) father; temper
tantrums as child
SCHOOL: usually no learning problems and typically a high school
graduate; some college possible; discipline problems likely, most likely
involving pornography interest
PEERS: mild to moderate social maladjustments, but normally one of
the "boys"; tries to cultivate a reputation as a tough fighter, but
known as a punk and low life to many; usually married, divorced, or
lives with a women, in that order, but has demonstrated poor relations
with women
WORK: majority work reliably around women; lack self-confidence to
improve self; if sadistic, takes better job
CRIMINAL HISTORY: majority are successful at avoiding this; average
of 2.5 priors, only 2 years served on each
DRUG/ALCOHOL: noted problems in this area
MENTAL: antisocial personality; defines self as normal in every way
except sexually, where suffers a known philia or mania; ritualism may
border on psychotic with sadistic type
ARREST: frequently leaves clues with victim; plays games with police;
difficult to get confession
TYPES based on Hale’s research, not Scully’s:
POWER REASSURANCE (30%) - precipitating factor is lonliness and lack
of self-esteem on 7-15 day cycle; neighborhood nonviolent attacks; keeps
souvenirs, thinks victim liked it
POWER ASSERTIVE (30%) - precipitating factor is desire to dominate an
impersonal sex partner on 20-25 day cycle; cruises singles bars, acts
macho; may repeat on same victim
ANGER RETALIATION (24%)- precipitating factor is perceived injustice
at hands of women on 6-12 month cycle; sees self as athletic and
masculine, action-oriented; uses blitz attack
SADISTIC (16%)- precipitating factor is need to express fantasy;
compulsive in personal appearance; carries rape kit; learns better ways
to stalk, and will eventually kill
|
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Last updated: Mar. 05, 2012
Not an official webpage of APSU, copyright restrictions apply, see
Megalinks in Criminal Justice
Citation:
O'Connor, T. (2012). "Arsonists and Firesetters," MegaLinks in Criminal
Justice. Retrieved from http://www.drtomoconnor.com/4050/4050lect04a.htm.
Gallery: Photos: Five bodies found in Lake Minnetonka home 
