Title

Copycat Firesetting: Bridging Two Research Areas

Keywords

arson; copycat; firesetting

Abstract

Deliberate firesetting costs our community in destruction to property and lives. Public concern heightens when similar fires occur in a series, raising the specter of copycat firesetting. Difficulties associated with researching copycat crimes in general mean that not a lot is known about copycat firesetting. As an initial step toward filling this research gap, we explore connections between research on copycat crime and research into deliberate firesetting. The intention is to extract salient features from what is known about the phenomena of deliberate firesetting and copycat crime, map them together, and point out shared and unique characteristics. It is argued that a "copycat firesetter" is likely to exist as a distinct subgroup and potentially requiring targeted interventions. © 2013 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology.

Publication Date

12-1-2013

Publication Title

Criminal Justice and Behavior

Volume

40

Issue

12

Number of Pages

1472-1491

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854813496997

Socpus ID

84887203473 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84887203473

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