Arson

Alternatively, if you see an arsonist in the act, don't hesitate to contact Leicestershire Police by calling 101 or 999 in an emergency.

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service and Leicestershire Police have produced a joint strategy, found below, which outlines the working arrangements between both services.

The strategy aims to:

• Reduce the incidence of deliberate fires and arson and their consequential impacts, including personal and economic loss, contributing to community empowerment and economic growth.
• The outcome of this strategy is to create safer homes, businesses, buildings, and neighbourhoods.

A series of new Arson Toolkits are being developed. These toolkits aim to provide prevention solutions and define some of the actions that can be taken when arson attacks occur.

An Arson Risk Assessment is a careful examination of potential fire targets and gaps in security to determine whether there are enough precautions in place or whether more should be done. The exercise aims to identify ways to deter or limit the activities of a potential arsonist. This Arson Fire Risk Assessment Guide and the accompanying checklists for your type of premises (shown below) will assist you in taking a structured approach to assessing arson risk by identifying the kind of people who might start fires and the targets most likely to be chosen.

Arson attacks occur for a variety of reasons but generally fall within four broad headings:

• Fire Play – fire play results from young people playing with fire either out of curiosity, boredom or with the intention to cause damage to property.
• Revenge – revenge attacks after an argument with friends, family of employees where the intention is to harm or injure a person.
• Emotional – emotional fire setting is associated with arsonists who may have mental health problems and set fires as a means of expressing themselves.
• Criminal – criminal fire setting is where arson is committed to destroy evidence of another criminal activity or to fraudulently claim on insurance payments.

The most common reason is fire play and the majority of people cautioned or found guilty of committing arson are male and aged under 18. Arson attacks involving this group are more likely to be opportunistic in nature and target areas with inadequate security measures and/or poor housekeeping practices.

In order to help us combat arson, where an incident caused by arson occurs, we visit the location and initiate community safety initiatives. We also liaise with other partner agencies when necessary to help assist us in preventing arson, for example, housing associations to remove rubbish which becomes a target for arson. We try and work with individuals who we feel, for whatever reasons, could be potential arsonists. We also thoroughly investigate all arson attempts, often utilising the Fire Investigation Dog to assist us gather evidence and hopefully prosecute the arsonist to prevent it from happening again.

As a Service, to help prevent arson, we offers a free, confidential FireCare service to any child who persist on playing with or setting fires, up to age of 18 years old. FireCare involves home visits to the family by our advisors and, by doing this, we aim to educate the whole family about fire safety. However, for young people with more complex problems, we can make a series of visits, referring them to other support services where appropriate. More information on the FireCare service we provide can be found by visiting the FireCare page.