Worryingly, the true figure may be even higher, as many of the arsonists responsible for the 3,500 fires started deliberately each week are never caught. Suffering abuse as a child, breakdown in relationships, and a desire for attention are thought to be the main underlying causes which lead to mental problems, and fire-starting.
Mental disorders can range from depression to schizophrenia.
Shortly before, he had discharged himself from a mental hospital following a breakdown after his marriage collapsed. The conference draws together experts from all sectors of the community, including psychiatrists, psychologists and a former arsonist, to consider the full extent of the problem and how it can be reduced. It is a very distressing aspect of the arson problem, with the victims being both the arsonists and the owners of the properties they set ablaze. This seminar provides an invaluable and much-needed opportunity to bring all interested parties together to consider how to reduce the problem. The problems to society of people suffering mental disorders go far beyond just arson, yet the sheer destructive aspects of this crime, both to life and to property, call for developing a more co-ordinated strategic approach to tackling this aspect of arson.