Arson, Explosion Crime

When hearing the word "crime," a person most often thinks about violence, such as assault or murder. However, there is another crime that is just a common and deadly. This is arson. Every year in the United States hundreds of people are injured and killed as a result of arson and many more lose property. In December of this past year, for example, five young men were arrested and charged with starting a wildfire that tore through the California beach town of Malibu and destroyed over 50 homes There were an estimated 9,983,568 property crimes, excluding arson, reported nationwide in 2006, according to the FBI.

In the U.S., over 700 people die annually because of arson-related fires. Despite the fact that fire officials often attempt to statistically measure the cost of this crime, such as lives or dollars lost, the real loss consists of several different factors that are much more difficult to measure, such as the change in a neighborhood or environment. Arson fires in a community can have devastating impact on property values of all structures in the area.

Arson is defined as "the willful and malicious burning of another's property or the burning of one's own property for some illegal purpose, such as defrauding an insurer" (Fisher, 2003). Arson investigators require a great deal of care, attention to detail and skill, because there are numerous problems that are not similar to the majority of other crime scenes. Unlike other crime scenes, which the most is done to keep the situation as found, the preservation of an arson scene is very difficult. Before the investigators get their, firefighters, onlookers, police and even the owners of the property may have already been on the crime scene.

Explosions due to explosives and emulsions complicate the issue even more, since there are so many different forms and applications that continually change with technology. Dynamite has been used for centuries, but has increasingly been replaced by other propellants. Thorough processing of the crime scene following an explosion may give investigators the opportunity to determine what caused the devise to go off. This helps develop leads that may find the suspects (Beveridge, 1998)

Beveridge, a. (1998) Forensic Investigation of Explosions, NY: CRC Press

Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Reports Retrieved on January 6, 2008 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm

Fisher, B. (2003) Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation NY: CRC Press