Australian arsonists: an analysis of trends between 1990 and 2015

There have been few studies to date focused on identifying the characteristics of Australian arsonists, and a distinct absence of any analyses of trends in arson offending over time. In order to address this gap, the current study reviewed sentencing transcripts obtained across all Australian jurisd...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychiatry, psychology, and law psychology, and law, 2019-01, Vol.26 (4), p.593-613
Main Authors: Ellis-Smith, Therese, Watt, Bruce D., Doley, Rebekah M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arson
Arson investigation
arson offenders
arson treatment
Australian arson
Criminal sentences
Economic aspects
Evaluation
female arsonists
Female offenders
Firesetting
Gender
Indigenous Australian arsonists
Indigenous peoples
Mental disorders
Mental illness
Motivation
Offending
Offenses
Psychological aspects
Risk factors
Sentences (Criminal procedure)
Substance abuse
substance use
Trends
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Summary:There have been few studies to date focused on identifying the characteristics of Australian arsonists, and a distinct absence of any analyses of trends in arson offending over time. In order to address this gap, the current study reviewed sentencing transcripts obtained across all Australian jurisdictions between 1990 and 2015, to identify trends in the features of arson offending and key characteristics of the arsonists, over this 25-year period. Offender characteristics such gender, motivation, Indigenous status and degree of exclusivity-versatility of the arson offending were considered. Trend analyses indicated substance use, mental illness and female gender to be increasingly significant factors in the commission of arson offences over time. Significant differences were identified between Indigenous and non-Indigenous arsonists, which raises questions as to the adequacy of current theory to explain firesetting in this group.
ISSN:1321-8719
1934-1687
DOI:10.1080/13218719.2018.1556131