Arson Motives

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Running head: ARSONISTS AND TYPES OF MOTIVES

Arsonists and Types of Motives
Starr Connaley
American Intercontinental University Abstract
Arson is listed as a property offense. Arson can cause a crucial volume of casualty to a person's life emotionally and economically. Arson investigations are time consuming, challenging and difficult to investigate because it's hard to prove the burden of proof that the fire was deliberately started. In this paper, I will review the elements of proof for an arson fire. I also will describe at least two distinct motives as for why individuals commit arson. The two motives will be under the social and economic category. I will describe the type of background of a person that is likely to commit arson …show more content…

Arson is a crime against property (Legal, I.U. (n.d.). The most vital elements needed to prove arson is an indication of a burning and confirmation that a criminal act lead to the fire. The individual implicated for the arson must have intended to burn the structure or building. The conduct must be malicious and not accidental in order to label it as arson. However, malice does not mean ill will. In order to establish malice there has to be brutally careless or premeditated behavior. Motive isn’t an important aspect of …show more content…

Occasionally there is little to no evidence to help in identifying an arsonist. When examining the scene, investigators should look for contributing factors and they should attempt to identify the motive used in the arson. It is essential that investigators have the awareness and technique to obtain leads that can lead to the capture of the arsonists. Only 25% of arsonists have been brought to justice. Even though arson is a frequent crime, it is very hard to reveal a suspect and often arsonists are never brought to justice. Scientific experiments can only do so much. Fires usually burn intensely hot and they spread rapidly, ruining everything near the fire along with evidence. The water from the high-pressured fire hoses can also destroy evidence. With all the investigatory obstacles considered, capturing even 1/4 of these criminals is to be honored. When cruel offenses such as arson are executed, investigators instantly start looking for evidence and potential suspects. At times the sole lead could be valuables that were found to be unaccounted for because it was taken from the scene of the crime. A detective’s first hunch could be to scour pawn shops. Although, probing through pawn tickets or visiting nearby pawn shops can be an endless and time consuming process, but investigators can look over pawn records online in just a matter of seconds utilizing the nation’s biggest online investigation

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