A year-old task force formed to coordinate investigations into church burnings said Sunday that while arrest and conviction rates have increased, the attacks remain a problem. Fires at houses of worship continue.
Arrests continue to be made.
And defendants continue to be prosecuted and convicted. The task force coordinates the efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement and includes officials from the Justice Department, the Treasury, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other agencies. There were 17 arson cases so far this year, compared with 49 cases for the same period last year. The report said there was no evidence of a nationwide conspiracy and that motives ranged from racial hatred to vandalism to revenge. This year investigators opened 82 investigations into arsons, bombings or attempted bombings.