Female juvenile arsonists: An exploratory look at characteristics and solo and group arson offences

Abstract

Purpose. This study is an examination of a sample of 114 female juveniles charged with arson in a large juvenile justice system. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the limited descriptive literature about female juvenile arsonists. Methods. Female juvenile arsonists who had been charged with an arson were explored regarding their experiences of family disorganization, abuse and neglect, school issues, substance abuse, mental health, and crime characteristics. Group and solo arson offending was explored in depth. Subjects were from a large US southern state and included all the girls charged with arson over a 5‐year period from 2001 to 2005. Results. The female juvenile arsonists were often from profoundly unstable homes, experienced difficulty with school attendance and behaviour, had little or no contact with at least one parent, and were in a crisis at the time of the arson offence. Arson crimes committed by juvenile female offenders were most often at school and were a result of an accidental or impulsive act. Solo female juvenile arsonists had more instability in their homes, poorer school enrollment, increased experiences of limited contact with a parent, often felt upset, angry, and expressed suicidal thoughts when compared to group female juvenile arson offenders. Conclusions. Female juveniles who commit arson alone present very different risk factors and immediate problems than those who commit arson in a group; they likely need very different treatment. Juvenile arson crimes should be seen as warning signal given out by youth in distress.

Comparing boy and girl arsonists: Crisis, family, and crime scene characteristics

“…Parents are often absent or indifferent (Davis & Lauber, 1999), exercising limited behaviour monitoring, and expressing little affection or acceptance towards their children (Kazdin & Kolko, 1986; Kolko & Kazdin, 1990). Many juvenile arsonists are characterized by poor social skills, low academic achievement (Del Bove et al , 2008), and negative peer involvement that may result in committing arson with peers (Hickle & Roe‐Sepowitz, 2010).…”

Targeted violence against law enforcement officers

“…There is growing research support for the idea that psychological disturbance of some sort is more prevalent among lone actor terrorists than group‐based terrorists. (Gruenewald, Chermak, & Freilich, ; Hewitt, ) The same appears to be true for criminals who act alone, as opposed to those in groups (Bijleveld & Hendriks, ; Hickle & Roe‐Sepowitz, ). We have found no such studies of individuals who commit felonious assaults on police officers, but hypothesize that the results would be similar.…”

Disaggregating Terrorist Offenders: Implications for Research and Practice

“…Using vastly different samples, studies comparing lone and group rapists have found that the former tended to be significantly older (Bijleveld and Hendriks, ; Hauffe and Porter, ; Ullman, ; Wright and West, ), significantly more likely to be married and have children, significantly less likely to have a history of substance abuse (Hauffe and Porter, ), significantly more likely to have previous convictions and problematic personality structures (Bijleveld and Hendriks, ), and significantly more likely to be employed (Ullman, ). Hickle and Roe‐Sepowitz's () study of female juvenile arsonists found solo offenders more often came from unstable homes; more often experienced school difficulties, behavioral problems, and negative emotions; and expressed suicidal thoughts more regularly (the latter finding is particularly relevant to Gruenewald et al's study when we consider their finding that lone offenders were more likely to die in the commission of their offense).…”