Ellis-Smith Therese, Watt Bruce D, Doley Rebekah M
School of Psychology, Faculty of Society and Design, Bond University, Robina, QLD, Australia.
Doley Psychology Services, Varsity Lakes, QLD, Australia.
Psychiatr Psychol Law. 2019 Feb 10;26(4):593-613. doi: 10.1080/13218719.2018.1556131. eCollection 2019.
There have been few studies to date focused on identifying the characteristics of Australian arsonists, and a distinct absence of any analyses of trends in arson offending over time. In order to address this gap, the current study reviewed sentencing transcripts obtained across all Australian jurisdictions between 1990 and 2015, to identify trends in the features of arson offending and key characteristics of the arsonists, over this 25-year period. Offender characteristics such gender, motivation, Indigenous status and degree of exclusivity-versatility of the arson offending were considered. Trend analyses indicated substance use, mental illness and female gender to be increasingly significant factors in the commission of arson offences over time. Significant differences were identified between Indigenous and non-Indigenous arsonists, which raises questions as to the adequacy of current theory to explain firesetting in this group.
迄今为止，很少有研究专注于识别澳大利亚纵火犯的特征，而且明显缺乏对纵火犯罪随时间变化趋势的任何分析。为了填补这一空白，当前的研究回顾了1990年至2015年间从澳大利亚所有司法管辖区获取的量刑记录，以确定在这25年期间纵火犯罪特征和纵火犯关键特征的趋势。研究考虑了犯罪者的特征，如性别、动机、原住民身份以及纵火犯罪的排他性与多样性程度。趋势分析表明，随着时间的推移，物质使用、精神疾病和女性性别在纵火犯罪中成为越来越重要的因素。研究发现原住民和非原住民纵火犯之间存在显著差异，这引发了关于当前理论能否充分解释该群体纵火行为的疑问。
