4.1 Of those forces which responded to the survey, 20% perceived deliberate fires as a major problem in their area. A number of other forces felt that whilst they were not a major problem in terms of the number of cases, deliberate fires had substantial consequences and resulted in considerable financial losses.

4.2 The Bureau invited forces to provide details of the number of recorded deliberate fires in their respective areas and the subsequent clear-up rate using the statistics from the last year available. There were obvious difficulties in establishing a relationship between the two sets of figures and not all forces attempted to do so but eight forces estimated that the number of deliberate fires in their areas ranged from 0.3% to 1.2% of all reported crimes. In many forces the number of recorded deliberate fires is high; between 200 and 500 per annum in some areas, increasing to 1,000 or more in a few metropolitan areas and shire counties.

4.3 The clear-up rate reported by the respondents varied from as low as 5% in one case to 50% at the other end of the spectrum. However, the mean average was 26%.

4.4 Some 48% of forces cited deliberate fires arising from vandalism, especially in schools, as a major problem in their area. A further 22% referred to deliberate fires related to theft. This theme is echoed in the survey undertaken amongst fire brigades. Similarly, the growing problem of deliberate vehicle fires was highlighted by some 40% of respondents.

4.5 In response to a question about how often forces enlisted the help of forensic scientists, it was found that such a course of action was very infrequent - between 3% and 9% of all incidents in most cases. However, there were notable exceptions; one of the forces with a high clear-up rate sought forensic help in 80% of all investigations of fires of doubtful origin.