auzzi fires "The arsonist's mind"

[DeadlyDaring]

Sorry if some of you dont like the following ...but it needs to be read


The arsonist's mind : part 1 - psychopathology and firesetting

Psychopathology, or the manifestation of a mental or behavioural disorder, can be a factor in many cases of arson. Psychopathologic firesetting may be motiveless, where the person acts in a psychotic state or in response to delusions or other manifestations of a psychiatric disorder such as schizophrenia. In other cases there may be a motive such as revenge or the desire for attention which is influenced by a personality disorder. Deficits in judgment and reasoning resulting from an intellectual disability may lead to a person lighting a fire without fully appreciating the consequences.

Disorders such as schizophrenia result from a combination of genetic factors and problems with brain development resulting from prenatal environmental stressors. Stressors may include maternal drug use, poor nutrition or exposure to severe trauma. Imbalances in nervous system chemicals are seen in many patients. Personality disorders result from similar causes, but are often triggered by environmental influences in early childhood, such as being raised in an abusive or otherwise dysfunctional environment.

A number of studies have examined the frequency with which firesetting results from psychopathologic influences. Examining 153 arsonists referred for pre-trial psychiatric assessment, Rix (1994) found 54 per cent had a personality disorder and only 13 per cent did not quality for a psychiatric diagnosis of some kind. Rix also found a significant incidence of intellectual disability (10%) and schizophrenia (6%) in his sample. In a study of 283 arsonists, mostly sourced through FBI files, Ritchie and Huff (1999) found 90 per cent had recorded mental health histories. Thirty-six per cent had a major mental illness of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Three of the 283 arsonists (1%) were diagnosed with pyromania.

Studies such as these are not representative of all arsonists and firesetters. They may be drawing on samples that have been pre-selected for psychiatric assessment. They also only include subjects who have committed relatively serious offences and have been caught for them. In many cases it may be that the individual's psychiatric disorder has contributed to them being caught, particularly given the overall low rate of detection, arrest and conviction for arson offences. It is possible that a given subject may have an underlying disorder without this necessarily playing a part in their firesetting behaviour.

The prevalence of psychopathology in bushfire-specific arson is not clear. This is due to a lack of focused studies and relatively low rates of arrest and conviction. In many cases people will light bushfires for reasons that are illegal, yet essentially rational, such as fires lit for land management purposes. Teenagers lighting fires in a group, for instance, will usually be responding to peer pressure and boredom rather than a psychiatric disorder. In cases where an offender lights a series of fires with no apparent purpose other than to fulfil their own psychological needs, there is a likelihood of them displaying at least some psychopathological symptoms.

[DeadlyDaring]

The arsonist's mind : part 2 – pyromania

Pyromania is a term that often arises when bushfire arson is discussed - whether in the media, among members of the public or between those involved with tackling bushfires. Deliberately lit bushfires are often attributed to the work of pyromaniacs. Studies have shown that there is a great deal of misunderstanding among investigators and law enforcement officers about what pyromania really means. The term is used loosely by the media and the public, and is often meant as a shorthand label for any kind of malicious and apparently senseless firesetting. What is pyromania, how common is it, and how useful is it to our understanding of arson?

Pyromania is an established psychiatric diagnosis in the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV). It falls into the category of 'impulse control disorders', along with disorders like kleptomania (stealing), intermittent explosive disorder (violent and destructive outbursts) and pathological gambling. These disorders are characterised by a failure to resist impulses, such as the impulse to light a fire.
The diagnostic criteria for pyromania are:
1. deliberate and purposeful firesetting on more than one occasion;
2. tension or emotional arousal before the act;
3. intense interest, curiosity or fascination about fire (which can include fire equipment and the consequences of fire);
4. pleasure, gratification or relief when setting or witnessing fires and their aftermath;
5. the firesetting is not done for another motive such as financial gain, anger or revenge, to gain recognition or to relieve boredom, and is not done in response to a delusion or hallucination or due to impaired judgment (such as through intoxication); and
6. the firesetting is not better accounted for by conduct disorder, antisocial personality disorder or a manic episode.

In pyromania there is a fascination with fire that goes well beyond the curiosity and experimentation often displayed by children. A true pyromaniac will not feel remorse and will not be concerned with the threat their fires may pose to life and property. For the pyromaniac, the fire is not a means to an end but an end in itself. There is no definitive treatment for pyromania but a combination of behaviour and cognitive therapy and drug treatment can help.
Pyromania is very rare. The reported incidence of the disorder in most recent studies is less than one per cent, and pyromaniacs constitute only a tiny proportion of psychiatric hospital admissions.

An understanding of the different motives and actions of firesetters can provide a platform for building prevention and education campaigns, informing investigations and applying the right interventions to those who are caught. Dismissing all firesetters as pyromaniacs can discourage these efforts. Unlike true pyromaniacs, most arsonists are in control of the decision to light a fire and, with the right influences, can decide not to.

[DeadlyDaring]

The arsonist's mind : part 3 - personality disorders

A personality disorder is a persistent pattern of inner experience and behaviour that differs markedly from the expectations of the individual's culture, is pervasive and inflexible, and leads to distress or impairment. Sufferers may show inappropriate emotions, perceptions and ways of interacting with others. Having a personality disorder can impact on work, family and social relationships. The disorder may be severe and dominate a person's life, or may be mild with symptoms becoming stronger and problematic during times of increased stress or external pressures.

While the prevalence of personality and other disorders in bushfire arson is not known, among those who become serial bushfire arsonists (lighting more than one or two fires) there is likely to be a high proportion whose behaviour is at least partly influenced by a personality disorder. In a sample of over 700 youths in the US, Johnson et al. (2000) found those with personality disorder symptoms were significantly more likely than others to commit violent acts, including arson and vandalism. Each additional symptom increased the risk.

Personality disorders most likely to be found among bushfire arsonists are:

• Paranoid - a pervasive distrust of others so that their motives are interpreted as malevolent. May light fires in retaliation against perceived threats or insults.

• Schizoid - inability to enjoy close relationships or to take pleasure in most activities. Displays emotional coldness and indifference in interpersonal relationships.

• Schizotypal - demonstrates social and interpersonal deficits marked by inappropriate or unusual emotions together with odd, bizarre or deluded beliefs and thoughts. Distorted perceptions or ideas may lead sufferer to believe that lighting fires is somehow necessary or appropriate.

• Antisocial - sufferers may engage in a range of antisocial, often criminal, behaviours including firesetting and other acts of wilful destruction. The disorder is characterised by a failure to conform to social norms by repeatedly performing acts that are illegal, and by exhibiting deceitfulness, impulsivity, irritability and aggressiveness. Includes a reckless disregard for the safety of self or others, consistent irresponsibility and lack of remorse for harm caused to others.

• Conduct disorder - a repetitive and persistent pattern of behaviour, usually evidenced by children or adolescents, in which the basic rights of others or social norms are violated. Behaviours may include aggression and cruelty to people and animals, destruction of property by fire or other means, deceitfulness and theft, and serious violation of parental or school rules. Where a person with conduct disorder starts a fire it will typically be with the intention of causing serious damage and perhaps endangering life.

• Histrionic - sufferers want to be the centre of attention. May display rapidly shifting and shallow expression of emotions and be easily influenced by others. Speech may be excessively impressionistic and lacking in detail. Mannerisms may show self-dramatisation, theatricality and exaggerated expression of emotion. May display inappropriate sexually seductive or provocative behaviour and may consider relationships to be more intimate than they actually are. Behaviour is likely to make them stand out in a workplace or other team situation. HPD will typically be seen in arsonists motivated by the desire for attention or to be seen as a hero.

[DeadlyDaring]

The arsonist's mind : part 4 - the rational firesetter

Previous issues of this bulletin have looked at the role of psychopathology and psychiatric disability in arson. Only a fairly small proportion of arson offenders are ever caught and even fewer become research subjects. People who light fires under the influence of psychopathology, particularly if they become serial offenders and light multiple fires in a discernible pattern, may be more likely to get caught and attract the interest of researchers than those who light fires for more rational reasons. Further research is needed to try and get a closer understanding of the distribution of deliberately lit fires across the different motive categories. At least in some areas, however, the majority of deliberate bushfires will be lit for reasons that are rational, even purposeful, and not necessarily malicious.

The bushfire arson typology in bulletin no. 7 identified, as a category, bushfires that are lit for a specific purpose or gain. In this category, firesetting behaviour is not typically influenced by psychopathology. Reasons for such deliberate firesetting might be altruistic, pragmatic or material:

• The lighting of fires for altruistic purposes might stem from a belief that the firesetter is doing the right thing. An example is where landholders burn bushland adjoining their property to reduce fuel build-up which they feel poses a threat to their own and neighbouring properties.

• A pragmatic purpose might be, for example, where a landholder generates grazing fodder for his or her stock by allowing a legally permitted fire to burn from their property into adjoining land. The landholder may illegally start a fire for this specific purpose.

• Deliberate firesetting may also have a material purpose. Such fires might generate a financial gain to the firesetter. For example, there is anecdotal evidence of bushfires being lit on protected public land to stimulate the growth of wildflowers, which are then harvested for sale.
Such practices may be done without any malicious intent, and the legitimate use of fire for land management is appropriate - and even necessary - in the right circumstances. However, the illegitimate or illegal use of fire carries potential threats to the environment, other properties, and the safety and resources of responding fire crews. These fires may be poorly planned and implemented, creating control problems for managers of adjoining Crown land.

These types of fires may also be lit with malicious intent. The destructive force of a bushfire can be used as a tool of anger. This anger may be displaced onto the bush from a target unrelated to the bush, such as an employer. Alternatively, there may be a link between the target and the bush, such as where the firesetter is seeking to protest against a land management or conservation agency over its policies or practices. The target may be the local community, with the arsonist responding to a perceived injustice by using fire to harm the community. When fire is used out of anger, whether the underlying influences on the behaviour are rational or not may largely be a matter of judgment. What seems rational to the arsonist, may not seem so rational to those who have to deal with the fire and its consequences.

[Packo]

You forgot members of the Religion of Peace, Islam. Well, guess you did in the Personality Disorder Section.

Pack

[Keith_Hixson]

This is the description of most of the guys upon Psyco Mtn.

Keith

[1CAVCCO15MED]

Yeah, it gives a whole new meaning to the term baptism by fire. Ask John.

[Arrow]

Pastor Keith, sometimes I don't get your jokes...but this one...I got.

[exlrrp]

Originally Posted by DeadlyDaring

The arsonist's mind : part 4 - the rational firesetter

Previous issues of this bulletin have looked at the role of psychopathology and psychiatric disability in arson. Only a fairly small proportion of arson offenders are ever caught and even fewer become research subjects. People who light fires under the influence of psychopathology, particularly if they become serial offenders and light multiple fires in a discernible pattern, may be more likely to get caught and attract the interest of researchers than those who light fires for more rational reasons. Further research is needed to try and get a closer understanding of the distribution of deliberately lit fires across the different motive categories. At least in some areas, however, the majority of deliberate bushfires will be lit for reasons that are rational, even purposeful, and not necessarily malicious.

The bushfire arson typology in bulletin no. 7 identified, as a category, bushfires that are lit for a specific purpose or gain. In this category, firesetting behaviour is not typically influenced by psychopathology. Reasons for such deliberate firesetting might be altruistic, pragmatic or material:

• The lighting of fires for altruistic purposes might stem from a belief that the firesetter is doing the right thing. An example is where landholders burn bushland adjoining their property to reduce fuel build-up which they feel poses a threat to their own and neighbouring properties.

• A pragmatic purpose might be, for example, where a landholder generates grazing fodder for his or her stock by allowing a legally permitted fire to burn from their property into adjoining land. The landholder may illegally start a fire for this specific purpose.

• Deliberate firesetting may also have a material purpose. Such fires might generate a financial gain to the firesetter. For example, there is anecdotal evidence of bushfires being lit on protected public land to stimulate the growth of wildflowers, which are then harvested for sale.
Such practices may be done without any malicious intent, and the legitimate use of fire for land management is appropriate - and even necessary - in the right circumstances. However, the illegitimate or illegal use of fire carries potential threats to the environment, other properties, and the safety and resources of responding fire crews. These fires may be poorly planned and implemented, creating control problems for managers of adjoining Crown land.

These types of fires may also be lit with malicious intent. The destructive force of a bushfire can be used as a tool of anger. This anger may be displaced onto the bush from a target unrelated to the bush, such as an employer. Alternatively, there may be a link between the target and the bush, such as where the firesetter is seeking to protest against a land management or conservation agency over its policies or practices. The target may be the local community, with the arsonist responding to a perceived injustice by using fire to harm the community. When fire is used out of anger, whether the underlying influences on the behaviour are rational or not may largely be a matter of judgment. What seems rational to the arsonist, may not seem so rational to those who have to deal with the fire and its consequences.

Wow, reading this sure takes me back to days in the 101st in the Song ve Valley, Summer '67.
My Battalion, the 1st 327 (1st bde, 101st) was involved in Operation Round Up. Our mission was to move through this agricultural valley, herding the inhabitants into pickup places where trucks would take them to refugee camps and then burning down their houses. No, I'm not making this up, if you want to research this further, google: tiger force MAssacre 1967. They were coming along behind "cleaning up" those who had elected to hide and stay. I did not know that at the time.
What I did know that this was one sorry thing to do to people, especially people who were supposed to be on our side.. These people didn't want to go and they were crying and wailiing, mostly old people and kids.
We burned down villages that dated farther back in history than anything in America. I set one house on fire myself, sorta just to do it. I wish I hadn't now, I consider that now to be the sorriest thing I ever did. I remember watching that house burn and thinking Ain't nothing EVER gonna be the same after this!
I knew than that we weren't going to win that war and that the best thing for us to do would be just get out, that the side we were fighting wouldn't be as cruel to their own people as we were.. And, as it turned out, I was right.

just my thoughts on a snowy morning

[Keith_Hixson]

Sis,
Only deviant minds like BobK. gets my jokes. Don't worry most of the time its an "in joke" between brother Bob and me.

Keith