With arson attacks now costing £1 million every day, and with one in three of all fires inbuildings malicious, a new drive has been launched to tackle the arson problem. Spearheading the drive will be the Arson Prevention Bureau, now relocated within theAssociation of British Insurers.

Figures just released highlight the urgent need for further action to combat arson. In 1996,there were 90,500 recorded malicious fires, a jump of 7% on the previous year. Of theseattacks:

• Arson fires resulted in 136 fatalities and 3,284 serious casualties.



• Malicious fires in buildings at 37,500 rose by 8%, accounting for 33% of all building fires, nearly double the same figure ten years ago. Buildings most at risk are construction premises (76% of recorded fires), private garages and sheds (72%) and schools (70%).



• Malicious fires in road vehicles totalled 45,000, up 9% on 1996. These accounted for just over half of all road accident fires.



• Throughout the UK, arson accounts for almost 50% of fire brigade call outs. In some inner-city areas the figure is as high at 70%.



• Revenge is the motive for nearly one in five arson attacks, with an equally large number linked to vandalism. Insurance fraud and concealment of another crime are also motives.

The Arson Prevention Bureau, which is backed by the Home Office and the Associationof British Insurers, is stepping up its activities to reduce arson. These include developinginitiatives to raise awareness, providing arson prevention advice to those most at risk, andforging closer links between insurers and the fire, police and forensic services, as well asthe Home Office.

Tony Baker, Chief Executive of the Bureau, said:

"Arson remains a serious problem, affecting all sectors of the community. Arsonists can strike anywhere, attacking businesses, schools, shops, churches, hospitals and private homes. The current level of arson and its cost, in both financial and human terms, simply cannot be allowed to continue.

"The Arson Prevention Bureau will provide a much needed impetus in tackling the problem. The Bureau is already actively involved in initiatives which we believe will help reduce the unacceptable level of arson. The Bureau's wide-ranging activities will not only raise awareness of the problem and the need to reduce it through adequate risk prevention measures but, through detailed research, enable a much more detailed and clearer picture to be built up on how arson can most effectively be reduced."

Notes

1. The management of the Arson Prevention Bureau recently moved from the Loss Prevention Council to the Association of British Insurers where it runs alongside the ABI Crime & Fraud Prevention Bureau.




• Arson Prevention Bureau, 51 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7HQ (Tel: 020 7216 7474 Fax: 020 7696 8996)


Contact names and details for Bureau work are:


• Acting Chief Executive of the Bureau: Tony Baker (Tel: 020 7216 7400)
• Bureau Manager: Vic Rance (Tel: 020 7216 7440)
• Head of Projects: Karen Haestier (Tel: 020 7216 7474)
• Media: Malcolm Tarling (Tel: 020 7216 7410)
• Consultant to the Bureau: Douglas Woodward




2. Attached are some case studies of arsonists and their motives.



3. Source of arson statistics: Home Office Statistical Bulletin, Issue 1/98.



4. Further enquiries to:




Malcolm Tarling 020 7216 7410 (Home: 020 8297 9510)




5. An ISDN line is available for radio broadcasts.