Overview

Different agencies involved in tackling arson have different perspectives on the size and impact of the arson problem. A report, ‘Safer Communities: Towards Effective Arson Control’ http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/fepd/arson.pdf commissioned by the Home Office, highlighted that this was mainly due to a mixture of recording and measurement differences and problems encountered with the different terminology used by the police and fire service.

Most ‘deliberate’ fire-setting dealt with by fire brigades does not feature in the police recorded crime figures. For example, the difference in the number of deliberate fires and arson recorded by the fire service (91,000 serious property incidents in 1999) and the police (53,800 in 1999) is significant. Some of this can be put down to the following:

i. Definitions and recording issues;

ii. Police Counting Rules for offences;