Arson: content revised 02/17/06.Definition The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR (Under Color Removal) A method for reducing the amount of printing ink used. It substitutes black for gray color (equal amounts of cyan, magenta and yellow). Thus black ink is used instead of the three CMY inks. See GCR and dot gain. ) Program defines arson arson, at common law, the malicious and willful burning of the house of another. Originally, it was an offense against the security of habitation rather than against property rights. as any willful Intentional; not accidental; voluntary; designed. There is no precise definition of the term willful because its meaning largely depends on the context in which it appears. or malicious Involving malice; characterized by wicked or mischievous motives or intentions. An act done maliciously is one that is wrongful and performed willfully or intentionally, and without legal justification. DESERTION, MALICIOUS. burning or attempting to burn, with or without intent to defraud To make a Misrepresentation of an existing material fact, knowing it to be false or making it recklessly without regard to whether it is true or false, intending for someone to rely on the misrepresentation and under circumstances in which such person does rely on it to his or , a dwelling dwelling an abnormality of gait in a horse in which there is a momentary hesitation before the foot is placed on the ground. house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property of another, etc. Offense Methodology and Tabular tab·u·lar adj. 1. Having a plane surface; flat. 2. Organized as a table or list. 3. Calculated by means of a table. tabular resembling a table. Presentation According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the UCR Program's guidelines guidelines, n.pl a set of standards, criteria, or specifications to be used or followed in the performance of certain tasks. , only fires that law enforcement investigation determined to have been willfully willfully adv. referring to doing something intentionally, purposefully and stubbornly. Examples: "He drove the car willfully into the crowd on the sidewalk." "She willfully left the dangerous substances on the property." (See: willful) or maliciously ma·li·cious adj. Having the nature of or resulting from malice; deliberately harmful; spiteful: malicious gossip. ma·li set may be classified as arson. Participating agencies do not report fires of suspicious suspicious adjective Referring to the consideration of a particular disorder–eg, cancer, as a diagnostic possibility, as in 'suspicious for malignancy' or unknown origin. Data users should consider several points regarding arson statistics: * The UCR Program staff does not include arson data in the national offense rates. Rates are computed separately based upon arson data received from all law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is a term used to describe any agency which enforces the law. This may be a local or state police, federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). that provide data for 12 complete months. Data concerning the rate of arson per 100,000 inhabitants
The game is based loosely on the concepts from SameGame. is presented in Table 2.30. * Because of fluctuations in law enforcement agencies' reporting of arson offenses, the FBI does not estimate for arson offenses. Therefore, arson offenses are excluded from Tables 1-7, all of which contain offense estimations. However, the UCR Program presents the number of arsons reported by individual law enforcement agencies (Tables 8-11), trend data (Tables 12-15), and arson clearance CLEARANCE, com. law. The name of a certificate given by the collector of a port, in which is stated the master or commander (naming him) of a ship or vessel named and described, bound for a port, named, and having on board goods described, has entered and cleared his ship or vessel data (Table 2.31 and Tables 25-28). Appendix appendix, small, worm-shaped blind tube, about 3 in. (7.6 cm) long and 1-4 in. to 1 in. (.64–2.54 cm) thick, projecting from the cecum (part of the large intestine) on the right side of the lower abdominal cavity. I of this publication contains more information about the methodology of individual tables. National Coverage In 2004, 13,286 agencies (providing 1 to 12 months of data) reported 68,245 arson offenses. Supplemental data, such as the type of structure burned and the estimated dollar loss, were received for 63,215 arsons. (See Table 2.31.) The Program received 12 complete months of arson data from 10,142 agencies representing 73.5 percent of the U.S. population. (See Table 2.30.) Population Groups: Trends and Rates The UCR Program aggregates data into population groups; six of these population groups have the city label (based on the number of inhabitants), and two have the county label. Appendix III contains more information about the individual population groups. Trends The number of arsons reported in 2004 fell 6.4 percent when compared with 2003 data. Law enforcement agencies in the Nation's cities collectively reported a 6.8-percent decline in the number of arsons from the 2003 figure. Among the population groups labeled city, those with 100,000 to 249,999 inhabitants had the largest year-to-year decrease in reported arsons, 11.1 percent; cities with populations of less than 10,000 had the smallest decrease in reported arsons, 0.5 percent. Agencies in the Nation's metropolitan counties had a 5.8-percent decrease in the number of arsons; and those in nonmetropolitan counties, a 3.5-percent decline. (See Table 12.) Rates Arson rates were based on information received from 10,142 agencies that provided 12 months of complete arson data to the UCR Program. An examination of data from those agencies indicated that in 2004, the highest rate--48.8 arsons per 100,000 inhabitants--was reported in the Nation's largest cities, those with 250,000 or more inhabitants. Cities with 10,000 to 24,999 residents had the lowest arson rate, 18.9 per 100,000 in population. Metropolitan counties had 24.1 arsons per 100,000 inhabitants, and nonmetropolitan counties had 17.1 arsons per 100,000 inhabitants, the lowest of all the population groups. (See Table 2.30.) Offense Analysis The UCR Program breaks down arson offenses into three property categories: structural, mobile, and other. In addition, the structural property type is comprised of seven types of structures, and the mobile property type consists of two subgroupings. The Program also collects information on the estimated dollar value of the damaged property. Property Type The number of arsons decreased for all three property types in 2004 compared with the 2003 number, particularly for the mobile type, which dropped 13.1 percent from the prior year's figure. Arsons of structural property decreased 3.9 percent, and arsons of other property types declined 2.9 percent. (See Table 15.) Distributions by Property Type In 2004, arsons of structures accounted for 44.6 percent of all arsons. Of those, 62.2 percent involved residential properties. Of the residential arsons, most (72.8 percent) were single-occupancy residences such as houses, townhouses, duplexes, etc. Mobile arsons accounted for 30.2 percent of all arsons. Within this category, 94.7 percent of the offenses involved the burning of motor vehicles. Other types of property, such as crops, timber timber: see lumber; wood. , fences Enclosures composed of any substance that will present an adequate blockade around a field, yard, or other such expanse of land for the purpose of prohibiting intrusions from outside. , etc., comprised 25.2 percent of reported arson offenses. (See Table 2.31.) Dollar Loss In monetary terms, the average dollar loss in 2004 for an arson was $12,017. The average dollar loss for a structural arson was $22,071. Mobile property had an average dollar loss of $6,382. Other property types had an average dollar loss of $1,705. (See Table 2.31.) Within the structural arson category, the industrial/manufacturing subcategory sub·cat·e·go·ry n. pl. sub·cat·e·go·ries A subdivision that has common differentiating characteristics within a larger category. had the highest average dollar loss at $92,201. Within that same category, single-occupancy dwellings had an average dollar loss of $21, 819. Other residential dwellings had an average dollar loss of $21,959. (See Table 2.31.) Clearances In the UCR Program, law enforcement agencies may clear an offense by the arrest of at least one person or by exceptional means. An agency may clear an offense by exceptional means if some force outside the agency's control prohibits the arrest of the individual. Section III provides additional information regarding clearances by exceptional means. Overall in 2004, law enforcement agencies cleared 17.1 percent of arson offenses by arrest or exceptional means. Among the four regions by which the UCR Program aggregates clearance data, law enforcement agencies in the Northeast “Northeastern” redirects here. For the Boston college, see Northeastern University, Boston. Northeast or north east is the ordinal direction halfway between north and east. It is the opposite of southwest. See boxing the compass. cleared the highest percentage of arson offenses, 21.5 percent, occurring in that region. Agencies in the South cleared 18.8 percent of arsons by arrest or exceptional means. Fifteen percent of arson offenses (the lowest percentage) were cleared in the Midwest Midwest or Middle West, region of the United States centered on the western Great Lakes and the upper-middle Mississippi valley. It is a somewhat imprecise term that has been applied to the northern section of the land between the Appalachians as well as in the West. (See Table 26.) An examination of the data collected about arson clearances by population groups indicated that law enforcement agencies in the Nation's smallest cities (under 10,000 in population) and in nonmetropolitan counties cleared the highest percentage of their arsons, 26.7 and 24.3 percent, respectively. The largest cities (250,000 and over in population) and metropolitan counties cleared their reported arsons at 10.0 and 17.8 percent, respectively. (See Table 25.) Clearances by Property Type A review of the 2004 data from 13,205 agencies that provided supplemental information concerning arsons showed that 21.2 percent of structural arson offenses were cleared by arrest or exceptional means. Slightly more than 7 percent (7.1) of mobile arson offenses and 20.1 percent of other arson crimes were cleared by arrest or exceptional means. (See Table 2.31.) Clearances and Juveniles Juvenile juvenile /ju·ve·nile/ (ju´vin-il) 1. pertaining to youth or childhood. 2. a youth or child; a young animal. 3. a cell or organism intermediate between immature and mature forms. clearances are reported when a person under the age of 18 is cited to appear in a juvenile court juvenile court Special court handling problems of delinquent, neglected, or abused children. Two types of cases are processed by a juvenile court: civil matters, often concerning care of an abandoned or impoverished child, and criminal matters, arising from antisocial or is turned over to another juvenile authority; it is not necessary for an arrest actually to occur. According to the UCR Program's definitions, when a law enforcement agency Noun 1. law enforcement agency - an agency responsible for insuring obedience to the laws FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation - a federal law enforcement agency that is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Justice clears a crime involving both juveniles and adults, the agency classifies the action as an adult clearance. A juvenile clearance is recorded only when the crime involves only juveniles. During 2004, clearances of juveniles for the offense of arson were proportionally pro·por·tion·al adj. 1. Forming a relationship with other parts or quantities; being in proportion. 2. Properly related in size, degree, or other measurable characteristics; corresponding: higher than for any other crime. Nearly 43 percent (42.7) of arson clearances nationwide involved only juveniles. A breakdown breakdown /break·down/ (brak´doun) 1. the act or process of ceasing to function. 2. an often sudden collapse in health. 3. loss of self-control. of the data by population groups showed that among the Nation's cities, collectively, juvenile clearances accounted for 46.9 percent of all arson clearances. Of all the population groups, cities with populations of 100,000 to 249,999 inhabitants had the highest percentage of their arson clearances involving only juveniles, 51.5 percent. Agencies in nonmetropolitan counties had the lowest percentage of their arson clearances involving only juveniles, 26.1 percent. In the country's metropolitan counties, 35.5 percent of arson clearances involved only juveniles. (See Table 28.) Juvenile Clearances by Property Type Of the clearances for structural arsons, 40.2 percent involved only juveniles. Of those, the majority (76.3 percent) involved community or public buildings such as churches, jails, schools, etc. Twenty-one twenty-one: see blackjack. percent of clearances for mobile arsons and 53.5 percent of other property type arsons involved only juveniles. (See Table 2.31.)
Table 2.30
Arson Rate
by Population Group, 2004
[10,142 agencies; 2004 estimated population
215,865,707; rate per 100,000 inhabitants]
Population group Rate
Total 28.2
Total cities 31.2
Group I (cities 250,000 and over) 48.8
(cities 1,000,000 and over) 42.7
(cities 500,000 to 999,999) 52.2
(cities 250,000 to 499,999) 52.9
Group II (cities 100,000 to 249,999) 30.1
Group III (cities 50,000 to 99,999) 26.0
Group IV (cities 25,000 to 49,999) 22.9
Group V (cities 10,000 to 24,999) 18.9
Group VI (cities under 10,000) 22.3
Metropolitan counties 24.1
Nonmetropolitan counties 17.1
Suburban area (1) 21.9
(1) Suburban area includes law enforcement agencies in cities with
less than 50,000 inhabitants and county law enforcement agencies
that are within a Metropolitan Statistical Area (see Appendix III).
Suburban area excludes all metropolitan agencies associated with
a principal city. The agencies associated with suburban areas also
appear in other groups within this table.
Table 2.31
Arson
by Type of Property, 2004
[13,205 agencies; 2004 estimated population 233,208,779]
Percent
Number of distribution Percent not
Property classi?cation offenses (1) in use
Total 63,215 100.0 17.9
Total structure: 28,202 44.6 21.1
Single occupancy residential 12,758 20.2 13.6
Other residential 4,773 7.6 18.8
Storage 1,902 3.0 21.6
Industrial/manufacturing 287 0.5 13.0
Other commercial 2,700 4.3 11.5
Community/public 3,246 5.1 22.6
Other structure 2,536 4.0
Total mobile: 19,088 30.2
Motor vehicles 18,070 28.6
Other mobile 1,018 1.6
Other 15,925 25.2
Average Total
Property classi?cation damage clearances
Total $12,017 10,548
Total structure: 22,071 5,983
Single occupancy residential 21,819 2,629
Other residential 21,959 976
Storage 18,246 344
Industrial/manufacturing 92,201 53
Other commercial 45,754 424
Community/public 10,573 1,084
Other structure 9,121 473
Total mobile:
Motor vehicles 6,382 1,359
Other mobile 6,179 1,203
Other 10,046 156
1,705 3,206
Percent of Percent of
offenses clearances
Property classi?cation cleared (2) under 18
Total 16.7 41.8
Total structure: 21.2 40.2
Single occupancy residential 20.6 28.5
Other residential 20.4 28.9
Storage 18.1 46.5
Industrial/manufacturing 18.5 35.8
Other commercial 15.7 27.4
Community/public 33.4 76.3
Other structure 18.7 53.5
Total mobile:
Motor vehicles 7.1 21.0
Other mobile 6.7 19.5
Other 15.3 32.7
20.1 53.5
(1) Because of rounding, the percentages may not add to 100.0.
(2) Includes offenses cleared by arrest or exceptional means.
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