A Strategy for Arson. Centre of Investigative Psychology, University of Liverpool.

In the UK it is estimated that the direct financial costs of arson are well over £1.3 billion a year. If the value of investigation time, uninsured losses and total social costs were included then the real cost is considerably higher (Home Office 1999). Arson fires often devastate whole families. Injuries can leave the victims with a lifetime of pain as well as permanent physical and mental scars. The outcome of widespread arson in a community can create degeneration within an area, provoking a loss of business and unemployment.