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The New York Police Department (NYPD) under Operation Impact deployed extra police officers to high crime areas designated as impact zones. Officers were encouraged to conduct investigative stops in these areas. City officials credited the program as one of the leading causes of New York City's low crime rate. We tested the effects of Operation Impact on reported crimes and arrests from 2004 to 2012 using a difference-in-differences approach. We used Poisson regression models to compare differences in crime and arrest counts before and after census block groups were designated as impact zones compared to census block groups in the same NYPD precincts but outside impact zones. Impact zones were significantly associated with reductions in total reported crimes, assaults, burglaries, drug violations, misdemeanor crimes, felony property crimes, robberies, and felony violent crimes. Impact zones were significantly associated with increases in total reported arrests, arrests for burglary, arrests for weapons, arrests for misdemeanor crimes, and arrests for property felony crimes. Impact zones were also significantly associated with increases in investigative stops for suspected crimes, but only the increase in stops made based on probable cause indicators of criminal behaviors were associated with crime reductions. The largest increase in investigative stops in impact zones was based on indicators of suspicious behavior that had no measurable effect on crime. The findings suggest that saturating high crime blocks with police helped reduce crime in New York City, but that the bulk of the investigative stops did not play an important role in the crime reductions. The findings indicate that crime reduction can be achieved with more focused investigative stops.

Many houses are at risk of being destroyed by wildfires. While previous studies have improved our understanding of how, when and why houses are destroyed by wildfires, little attention has been given to how these fires started. We compiled a dataset of wildfires that destroyed houses in New South Wales and Victoria and, by comparing against wildfires where no houses were destroyed, investigated the relationship between the distribution of ignition causes for wildfires that did and did not destroy houses. Powerlines, lightning and deliberate ignitions are the main causes of wildfires that destroyed houses. Powerlines were 6 times more common in the wildfires that destroyed houses data than in the wildfires where no houses were destroyed data and lightning was 2 times more common. For deliberate- and powerline-caused wildfires, temperature, wind speed, and forest fire danger index were all significantly higher and relative humidity significantly lower (P < 0.05) on the day of ignition for wildfires that destroyed houses compared with wildfires where no houses were destroyed. For all powerline-caused wildfires the first house destroyed always occurred on the day of ignition. In contrast, the first house destroyed was after the day of ignition for 78% of lightning-caused wildfires. Lightning-caused wildfires that destroyed houses were significantly larger (P < 0.001) in area than human-caused wildfires that destroyed houses. Our results suggest that targeting fire prevention strategies around ignition causes, such as improving powerline safety and targeted arson reduction programmes, and reducing fire spread may decrease the number of wildfires that destroy houses.

Sparber talks about the issue of juvenile firesetting in the US, which accounts for more than 60% of the annual residential fires in some communities. It is estimated that up to 20% of juveniles placed in residential treatment facilities have a history of firesetting behavior that is not being recognized; and if left untreated, many of these youth will continue to set fires throughout their childhood. He stresses that a collaborative relationship be developed and maintained with the fire and police departments when working with juvenile firesetters. Both organizations are important sources of information to the mental health professional regarding the child, family, and the fire incident, as well as information regarding fire involvement and other risk behaviors not offered in the therapeutic setting.

Arson is a violent crime and a public health problem that causes injuries and deaths, destroys homes, and destabilizes neighborhoods. During the late 1970s, pre-Halloween pranks in Detroit, Michigan, turned destructive when hundreds of fires were set deliberately throughout the city; in 1984, a record of 810 fires were set during the Halloween period. In 1985, a citywide anti-arson campaign that involved the mobilization and training of thousands of community volunteers was begun in Detroit. This report describes the multiple components of the anti-arson intervention from 1985 through 1996 and changes in the incidence of Halloween fires. Both the decrease in annual Halloween arson fires after the intervention began and the inverse relationship between the number of volunteers and the number of fires suggest a causal effect. This study illustrates the capacity of an urban community to mobilize its residents and stakeholders, the importance of community participation and multisectoral partnerships in program planning and implementation, and the challenges faced in retrospectively evaluating an apparently successful, complex, community-based intervention.

With the number of juvenile firesetters growing each year and the amount of psychological and financial damage they create, it is essential that clinical professionals are aware of the characteristics surrounding juveniles who set fires. This study had two primary purposes: to educate nurses and mental health practitioners about the etiology and treatment of juvenile firesetters and to discuss a number of exploratory predictors, including age, gender, aggression, internalizing behaviors, level of deviancy, family dynamics, and sociability. Certain individual and environmental characteristics relate to varying levels of damage caused by the fire and the presence or absence of recidivistic behaviors. Firesetters are a group widely seen in the general population but not often identified or studied by clinical professionals. Therefore, this article has implications for the clinical practice of nurse practitioners and others who come into contact with this clinical population.

Variables found more often in a group of severe fire-setting children than in a group of minor fire-setting children were clustered. Results disclosed a more primitively organized personality structure on the part of severe fire setters. This personality structure was poorly defended against expressions of aggressive or sexual impulses. (BB)

Arson, the second leading cause of residential fire-associated deaths in the United States, accounts for approximately 700 deaths annually, destroys homes, and destabilizes neighborhoods. In Detroit, Michigan (1990 population: 1,027,974), arson accounted for nearly half (46.3%) of all fire-related deaths since 1984. During the late 1970s, pre-Halloween pranks traditionally associated in some parts of the United States with the night of October 30 turned destructive in Detroit, with hundreds of fires set throughout the city. By 1984, October 30 became known as \"Devil's Night\" and had evolved to 3 consecutive nights of arson on October 29-31; in that year, a record 810 fires were reported. In 1985, Detroit began a citywide intervention campaign against arson and vandalism during the 3-day Halloween period using data from an ongoing fire surveillance system maintained by the Detroit Fire Department (DFD) to target areas at high risk for arson. This report describes the intervention implemented by the city of Detroit from 1985 through 1996 and the impact of the intervention in preventing Halloween arson; approximately 34,000 volunteers participated in 1996, and the number of fires during this 3-day period decreased to the average number of fires for any other 3-day period during the remainder of the year.

The firefighter's work of suppressing a blazing structure is the beginning of a string of activities that includes investigation of possible cause and potential criminal prosecution if arson is suspected. Fire investigators examine burn patterns and look for trace accelerants in an effort to determine whether the blaze was accidental or the work of an arsonist. There are several ways to sniff for accelerants. The most traditional is to use a specially trained dog. When utilized, the dogs are highly accurate and very reliable - but because they cannot report what they have found, quantifying the compound is impossible by this means alone. Supplemental electronic devices must be used. During the burn, most of the fuel is consumed. Investigators need to look for trace volatile organic compounds in parts per million (ppm) and sub-ppm concentrations. A Photoionization Detector (PID) is designed specifically for this task.