Definition

The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program defines arson as any willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property of another, etc.

Only fires determined through investigation to have been willfully or maliciously set are classified as arsons.  Fires of suspicious or unknown origins are excluded.

National Coverage

During 2002, 12,454 law enforcement agencies provided from 1 to 12 months of arson data and reported 74,921 offenses to the UCR Program.  Of the 12,454 agencies, 12,414 submitted additional information (such as structure type and estimated value of property damage) for 66,308 arsons. Of those agencies submitting supplemental information, 9,413 agencies provided 12 months of data covering 72.7 percent of the population.

Because of limited reporting of arson offenses by law enforcement, the UCR Program does not estimate for this offense and, therefore, does not include arson offenses in tables that contain offense estimates. (Tables 1 through 7, inclusive.) Tables 8–11 in this report present the total number of arsons reported by individual law enforcement agencies. The number of arson offenses are listed separately in the Arson column and aggregated with the Crime Index offenses for presentation in the Modified Crime Index column presented in those tables. Arson is not included in the national rate calculations; arson rates are computed separately and presented in Table 2.31. Tables 12-15 in this publication provide 2-year arson trend data. Arson clearance data are located in Table 2.32 and Tables 25-28. Additional information regarding the specific composition of each table is provided in the Table Methodology section of Appendix I.

Characteristics

Type

The UCR Program identifies arson by type of property burned: structure, mobile, and other. In 2002, structural arsons (residential, commercial, industrial, etc.) were the type most frequently reported, and accounted for 41.3 percent of those arsons for which supplemental data were received. Mobile properties, such as motor vehicles and trailers, made up 33.1 percent of arsons, and other properties (crops, timber, etc.) accounted for 25.7 percent of arson offenses. (See Table 2.32.)

Within structural arsons, the burning of residential properties accounted for 60.7 percent of those offenses. Single occupancy residences comprised 71.0 percent of the residential arsons. At the time of the arson, 18.2 percent of structural properties were uninhabited or not in use. In terms of mobile property arsons, motor vehicles comprised 94.6 percent of that type of arson. (See Table 2.32.)

During 2002, structural arsons declined 6.9 percent and arson incidents involving mobile property decreased 2.5 percent when compared to 2001 arson data. Arsons of other type property decreased 5.5 percent from the 2001 number. (See Table 15.)

Dollar Loss

In 2002, the average dollar loss associated with arson offenses was $11,253. The average dollar loss for structural property arsons was $20,818, and the average dollar loss for mobile property arson offenses was $6,073. Other property type arson offenses had an average dollar loss of $2,536. (See Table 2.32.)

Population Groups: Trends and Rates

The UCR Program determines population groups using several factors, one of which includes population size. These groups are further discussed in Appendix III. An examination of 2-year trend data showed that arsons in the Nation in 2002 declined 3.7 percent from 2001 data. In the Nation's cities collectively, arsons declined 3.1 percent from the previous year's number. Among the population groups labeled as city, cities with 100,000 to 249,999 in population had the only increase in the number of arson offenses, a rise of 0.7 percent when compared with 2001 data.  Law enforcement agencies in suburban counties reported a 5.4 percent decrease, and rural county law enforcement agencies had a 5.0 percent decrease in the number of arsons when compared to 2001 data. (See Table 12.)

Rates

Collectively, law enforcement agencies in the Nation reported an arson rate of 32.4 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. Cities overall reported a rate of 36.5 arsons per 100,000 inhabitants. Among city population groupings, cities with populations of 250,000 and over posted the highest arson rate at 58.6 per 100,000 persons, and cities of 10,000 to 24,999 inhabitants had the lowest rate, 20.0 arsons per 100,000 inhabitants. Rural counties had an arson rate of 16.6 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants, and suburban counties had a rate of 27.0 per 100,000 in population. (See Table 2.31.)

Clearances

According to the UCR Program definition, an offense is cleared when an arrest is made and charges have been brought against the arrestee. A clearance by exceptional means can also be made when the offender has been identified and located and there is enough evidence to support an arrest, but conditions beyond the control of law enforcement personnel preclude the arrest, charging, and prosecuting the offender. Section III of this report contains additional information regarding clearances.

In 2002, law enforcement agencies in the Nation cleared 16.5 percent of arson offenses either by arrest or exceptional means; those in cities collectively cleared 15.9 percent of arsons. Law enforcement agencies in rural counties cleared 23.0 percent of arson offenses, and 17.1 percent in suburban counties. (See Table 25.) By geographic region, the Northeast cleared 19.8 percent of the arson incidents brought to law enforcement's attention; the South, 18.9 percent; the Midwest, 14.8 percent; and the West, 13.9 percent of the arsons reported in that region. (See Table 26.)

A review of the data within city population groupings showed that cities with less than 10,000 in population had the highest percentage of both structural arsons and mobile property arsons cleared by arrest at 29.0 percent and 18.1 percent, respectively. Cities with 10,000 to 24,999 inhabitants had the highest percentage—25.9 percent—of arsons of other property types cleared by arrest. (See Table 27.)

During 2002, 12,414 law enforcement agencies provided supplemental clearance data for arson. Of the arsons for which supplemental clearance data were received, 22.4 percent of all structural arsons were cleared by arrest or exceptional means. The highest percentage of structural arson clearances—33.0 percent—were for those offenses committed against community/public structures. The lowest percentage of structural arson clearances—17.7 percent—were for those offenses committed against other commercial properties. Law enforcement also cleared 7.2 percent of mobile property arsons and 20.4 percent of the arsons committed against other properties. (See Table 2.32.)

Clearances and Juveniles

The UCR Program lists any clearance involving both adults (those aged 18 and over) and juveniles (persons under age 18) as an adult clearance. In addition, if an offender under the age of 18 is cited to appear before juvenile authorities, the UCR Program considers that incident as cleared by arrest even though a physical arrest may not have occurred. Forty-three percent of arsons cleared in the Nation in 2002 involved juvenile offenders. In cities collectively, 45.6 percent of arsons cleared involved juveniles. By population group, juvenile clearances accounted for 50.3 percent of arsons cleared in cities with less than 10,000 in population and 42.1 percent in cities of 250,000 and over in population. Juvenile clearances accounted for 28.6 percent of arsons cleared in rural counties and 39.1 percent in suburban counties. (See Table 28.)

As shown in Table 2.32, community/public structures had the highest percentage—71.8 percent—of clearances involving juveniles, and motor vehicle arsons had the lowest—21.9 percent—of clearances involving juveniles.

Arrests

Total Arrests and Rates

In 2002, an estimated 16,635 people were arrested for arson. (See Table 29.) The arson arrest rate in the Nation was 5.8 arrests per 100,000 inhabitants. By geographic region, the Northeast and Midwest each had an arson arrest rate of 5.9 per 100,000 inhabitants, the West had a rate of 5.8 per 100,000 persons, and the South had a rate of 5.6 arson arrests per 100,000 inhabitants. (See Table 30.) Among population groups labeled city, law enforcement agencies in cities with less than 10,000 inhabitants had the highest arson arrest rate at 7.2 per 100,000 persons, and cities with populations of 250,000 and over along with cities with 25,000 to 49,999 in population had the lowest rates at 5.3. Rural counties had an arson arrest rate of 4.9, and suburban counties had an arrest rate of 5.9 per 100,000 inhabitants. (See Table 31.)

Arrest Trends

In 2002, arson arrests declined 12.0 percent from the number of arrests reported in 2001. Overall, arrests of adults for arson declined 13.8 percent. Arrests of juveniles decreased 10.2 percent from the previous year's number and included a 10.4 percent decline in arrests of juveniles under 15 years of age. (See Table 36.) The number of females arrested for arson was down 16.1 percent from the 2001 figure, and arson arrests of males declined 11.2 percent. Arrests of female juveniles for arson fell 15.8 percent, and the number of male juveniles arrested for arson declined 9.4 percent from the 2001 figure. (See Table 37.)

Law enforcement agencies in the Nation's cities collectively reported that arrests declined 15.1 percent from the 2001 number, including a 10.8 percent decrease in juvenile arrests for arson and a 19.8 percent drop in adult arson arrests. (See Table 44.) In the Nation's suburban counties, law enforcement officials reported a 0.3 percent decline in total arson arrests. Juvenile arson arrests in suburban counties declined 5.2 percent while adult arson arrests in suburban counties increased 4.1 percent. (See Table 50.) In rural counties, the number of arson arrests decreased 10.8 percent in 2002 from the 2001 total. Juvenile arson arrests in rural counties fell 17.7 percent; adult arson arrests declined 7.3 percent. (See Table 56.)

An examination of arson arrests over a 5-year period indicated that nationwide, arson arrests decreased 5.6 percent from the 1998 figure. From 1998 to 2002, law enforcement agencies reported an 11.3 percent decrease in juvenile arson arrests and a 1.2 percent increase in the number of adults arrested for arson. (See Table 34.)

Over the 10-year period from 1993 to 2002, total arson arrests declined 20.5 percent—adult arrests decreased 17.7 percent and juvenile arrests declined 23.2 percent. (See Table 32.)

Distribution

Nearly half (49.4 percent) of arrestees for arson during 2002 were under the age of 18. Overall, 67.8 percent of arson arrestees were under age 25. (See Table 41.) Males accounted for 84.8 percent of those persons arrested for arson. (See Table 42.) Of the males arrested for arson, 51.7 percent were under age 18. (See Table 39.) Thirty-seven percent of females arrested for arson were under age 18. (See Table 40.)

An examination of arson arrests by race indicated that 76.8 percent of arson arrestees were white, 21.5 percent were black, and 1.7 percent were of other races. (See Table 43.)

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