Arson and Its Management in NSW

Abstract

Arson is a serious and growing problem in N.S.W. Results presented here suggest that the replacement costs alone of arson damage amount to as much as $65 million p.a., and that the incidence of arson is doubling about every eight years. As a crime, arson is particularly wasteful. Most commercial crime is neutral in that it is simply redistributive, but commercial arson achieves the redistribution by destroying resources. The management of arson poses special problems because of the diffuse and complex nature of its impact. The existing organisational framework is not as well suited as it might be to the development and coördination of portfolio of arson management strategies. Some avenues for improvement in the management of arson are explored.