Serial Arsons - An Empirical Analysis

The urgency of effectively combating arson crime arises both from its frequency and from the often-considerable property damage and health consequences for fire victims. The present study provides scientifically sound project data, prepared according to uniform criteria, as a practice-oriented and ready-to-use aid for the investigation and for the conviction of serial arsonists. By applying multivariate analysis methods, commonalities between simple and serial arson as well as specific characteristics of the crime scene of serial arson and the personality of serial arsonists will be revealed in comparison to the overall fire crime. In the future, the continuously developed database will provide decisive impulses for research and concrete case analyses (criminal profiling) of arson.