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The article focuses on the symbolism of fire before and after the shootings in Kent State University in Kent, Ohio on May 4, 1970. It states that fire become a symbol of student demonstration in the university when students protests the incursion of America into Cambodia wherein the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) building of the university was burned into ground. It says after the ROTC building was burned, National Guardsmen who seeks to disperse the crowd of students, started to fire their weapon wherein four people died and nine were injured. It argued that arson as used in demonstration reflects that fire symbol and fire power could not be separated.

The article presents information on research papers related to psychoanalysis published in various journals. In his research paper "Play, the mediator between opposites- its concretization in arson," published in a 1971 issue of "British Journal of Medical Psychology," Anneliese Pontius makes a contribution to ideas about the origin of arson. In another research paper "Parting, clinging, individuation," published in a 1972 issue of the journal "Guild of Pastoral Psychology, its author J.W.T. Redfearn treats parting and clinging as the problem of achieving autonomy without a cut from roots which inevitably leads to a lack of solid conviction.

The article discusses several judicial decisions on criminal law and procedure in the U.S. in 1928. The first case to be discussed was the arson case 'State V. Craig. Kans. 259 Pac. 802.' Where defendant willfully burned a barn on a farm held by him as tenant under a lease from his mother, she being the owner of an undivided one-half interest in the farm, and defendant's brother and sister and himself each owning an undivided one-sixth interest therein, it was no defense to a prosecution of the defendant for arson that long after the criminal prosecution was begun his mother testified she had not sanctioned defendant's act before the event. Another case to be discussed was the attempt case, 'People V. Gilbert, Calif. D. C. A. 260 Pac. 558.' Degree of proximity to success necessary to constitute an attempt. It is said in the above case that "In order to constitute the offense of an attempt to commit a crime, the attempt must be manifested by acts which would end in the consummation of the particular offense, but for the intervention of circumstances independent of the will of the party." This statement was first made in People V. Murray, 14 Cal. 159, and has been repeated in many other cases. Thus in Ex parte Floyd, 7 Calif. App. 588, at 590, "would have done so but for some intervening cause."

This section presents abstracts of studies related to police science and criminology, including The Effect of Psychotropic Drugs on Driving, by J. Mabileau published in the March 1964 issue of the International Criminal Police Review and Magnesium Bombs in Arson, by Paul T. Kettering published in the June 1964 issue of Law and Order.

This section presents abstracts of several articles on police science. In Initial Action at the Scene of a Crime, W. D. Crowley cautions that in many important investigations it can be a distinct disadvantage to be forced into a situation where you are compelled to interview the offender before you are in possession of all available information. Identification of Dead Bodies by Dentures is an article advocating compulsory embedding of identification in new dentures which is substantiated by citing two actual cases. The M. O. System of Investigation and Reporting Arson points out that the investigator must understand the specific information to be secured during an investigation in order to prepare a crime report which emphasizes the modus operandi of the criminal and suggests that the fire investigation report cover essentially these things for M.O. Micro Determination of Chloride in Blood Plasma and Cells by Spectrophotometric Analysis Using Solid Silver Iodate is an extension of the Sendroy method of chloride determination, by reaction with solid silver iodate, to the use of spectrophotometry for the analysis of blood, plasma, serum, or packed red cells, on a micro scale. The method is convenient and sensitive for an analysis of chloride in 0.02 millimeters of sample.

The article presents abstracts of recent court cases in the U.S. as of September 1963. In Delaware, defendant Downing was convicted of third degree burglary, malicious mischief and attempting to burn, and defendants Downing and Therkildsen were convicted of conspiracy to commit malicious mischief. On the other hand, in People versus Harris, the defendant was convicted of possession of marijuana. On appeal, defendant contended that the evidence used against him had been illegally obtained while he was under unlawful arrest. The California District Court of Appeal affirmed, holding that where the arresting officers, without search or arrest warrants, went to a cleaning store to investigate alleged bookmaking activities and were granted permission to search the premises by the proprietor. In State versus Spino, the defendant was charged with second degree arson and the trial court sustained his contention that the statute was unconstitutional as an arbitrary and unreasonable exercise of the police power. In State versus Keating, the defendant was convicted of maliciously damaging a building by explosion. The Supreme Court of Washington affirmed, holding that even assuming arguendo that defendant's arrest was unlawful for lack of probable cause, his subsequent voluntary admissions and confessions were properly admitted in evidence, since the sole criterion of admissibility of such statements is their voluntariness.

The article presents abstracts of studies about police science. In X-Ray Diffraction Technique for Small Samples by R. K. Sorem, small samples may be obtained by scraping the desired surface area with a stylus made from a diamond point phonograph needle. The specimen is transferred to a gelatin fiber made by cutting a gelatin capsule. The adhesive, water, is kept to a minimum by touching the tip of the fiber to the edge of a drop for only small fraction of a second and then immediately rolling it in the specimen. Small powder cameras are recommended to keep the exposure to a reasonable value. Recognizing Where Arson Exists by C. W. Stickney is a very comprehensive and instructive discussion of the investigation of the cause and dynamics of fire as interpreted from the residue. In Unusual Result of Vehicle Examination by R. L. Jackson, a hit and run suspect vehicle was examined by fingerprint technicians to determine the validity of the owners story that the vehicle had been stolen. In the course of their processing, the image of the side of the victim's face was developed on the window of the car. At autopsy, parallel lines similar to rubber gaskets around windows were observed on the victim's head.

The article discusses the privilege against self-incrimination under the law in Israel. Both near relatives and wrongdoers are incompetent witnesses. The incompetency of near relatives was based on an interpretation of the scripture to the effect that a man may not be put to death either for the sins of his parents or of his children or because of, that is, on the testimony of, his parents or children. The incompetency of wrongdoers was derived from the scripture, put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness, which was read to mean that the wicked are bound to be unrighteous witnesses and therefore are incompetent. Where witnesses to a deed testified that at the time they had witnessed the deed they were incompetent for reason of their sinfulness, their evidence as to their witnessing the deed was held admissible and that as to their incompetency was held inadmissible. The question thus arose whether a man's statement may be divided so that only the self-incriminating part would be inadmissible, whereas the neutral part would be admissible in evidence. The rule that the confession to a criminal act would serve as a civil cause of action, but would not be admitted as evidence in criminal proceedings, was applied to confessions of arson, embezzlement, the taking of usurious interest and by analogy of adultery, the confessing wife losing her claim to maintenance and other monetary benefits, but not her status as a married woman and incurring no liability to be divorced or punished on the strength of her confession only.

This article explains the legal requirements of preserving and processing evidence in arson and other criminal investigations. The crime of arson is rather singular in nature as to the physical evidence usually found during investigation. The physical evidence at the scene is often destroyed by the fire, but not always. Any detected materials related to the crime can often speak very strikingly and forcefully with the aid of laboratory studies thereon. As a review of the field of evidence in law, we meet the classification of testimonial evidence and physical evidence. Under the first class fall those statements of witnesses and suspects, which may or may not be reduced to writing. The second class, namely, physical evidence refers to those material things that people can see, feel, smell, and taste. In all criminal cases including arson, the law requires careful scrutiny of the evidence offered in order to safeguard the rights of the defendant. This is to make certain that it is competent, and sheds some light on the question at bar, namely, the guilt or innocence of the defendant. These safeguards are not tricks, nor red tape, nor stumbling blocks for the prosecution, but safeguards that defendants would want to see observed. A defendant would certainly want to see negligence, gross carelessness, and possibility of fraud ruled out when some object was introduced against him as evidence at his trial. Three general points arise in connection with admitting into evidence any laboratory findings made on objects secured during the investigation: admissibility of the object; admissibility of the results of laboratory processing of that object; and interpretation of those findings.

The article presents a list of books related to criminal investigation of arson including "Law and Tactics in Jury Trials: The Art of Jury Persuasion," by Francis X. Busch, "Criminal Investigation: The Investigation of Criminal Cases, the Securing of Evidence and Its Proper Presentation in Court," by Charles W. Fricke, and "Fire Investigations," by H. Rethoret.

The article discusses the crime of deliberate incendiarism. Arson is the most difficult of crimes from the viewpoint of the investigator. In most cases the fire will have destroyed all traces of the arson, so that the prosecution is compelled to build the case almost entirely on circumstantial evidence. The crime of deliberate incendiarism is, without a doubt, the one which most often goes unpunished and the one for which there is the greatest diversity of causes. On the other hand, it is seen that the investigators, in spite of their prevailing ignorance of technical procedures, too often delay in consulting the specialists until they are forced to admit that their investigations have failed. We note that their investigations are almost always belated and that they completely lack data acquired during the fire and minute observations of the actual outbreak of the fire. In questions of incendiarism, more than in any other crime, the investigator must reject circumstantial evidence, the testimony of informers, and other purely accessory material.

This article focuses on arson investigation. Many crimes are committed throughout Canada and the U.S., but not one of them contain all the dastardly elements found in the crime of arson. Almost every police body specializes in various branches of crime detection. Arson is very common, quite prevalent, and does more harm than any other single crime. It is a weapon for murder, robbery, assault, fraud, revenge, spite and, when completed, has destroyed in many cases the evidence that it was even committed. In the last statement lies the real reason for such a lackadaisical attitude towards arson as a crime. It is too easy to place the cause of a fire to some classification other than arson, and too hard to prove it was arson. The fire officials will pass it on to police officials as a criminal matter, or the police will toss it over to the fire officials as a fire problem. Both departments have their time fully occupied in attending to their regular duties. Arson is a full-time job because it requires the combined knowledge of fire and all the capabilities of a full trained criminal investigator.

This article focuses on the crime of arson which is an extraordinarily complex one by its definition alone. To begin with, arson, like murder and most admiralty crimes, exists in several degrees of indictment. These degrees are wholly dependent upon the type and use of the structure or property burned, degree of involvement of participants, and often the time of day in which the crime is committed. But what degrees now exist are only created by modern statutory definition over and above the original common law of England, which law, in comparison with 20th century statutes, seems very defective in scope. Originally English common law defined and limited the crime of arson only to the malicious burning of the dwelling house of another. The common law clearly was aimed at, first, assuring the security of habitation, and secondly, at assuring the security of habitation of all the general public with the exception of the dwelling house of one's self. The Model Arson Law now adopted in its main substance omits reference to the time of day, it being considered now that the crime is as serious at one time as at another.

The article analyses and discusses adequately the subject of convicting the arsonist. Any conviction of an arsonist involves consideration of legal questions of the crime itself and the admissibility of evidence in the trial, of investigation techniques and aids, of the psychological background of the arsonist, and of many other factors. Arson has always been regarded by the law as a heinous and most aggravated offense, for not only does it endanger human life and the security of habitations, but also it evidences a moral recklessness and depravity in the perpetrator. It was a capital offense until more lenient statutes were enacted in the 19th Century. At common law the common law definition of arson--the willful and malicious burning of the property of another--imports two mental elements: willfulness and malice. The act is done willfully; that is, intentionally as opposed to accidentally; and maliciously, which is inferred if the burning is intentional. The distinction between motive and intent is clearly marked in the law of arson.

In this article the author brings to light a number of salient facts and conclusions relative to an important phase of criminal investigation: that of automobile arson. The rapid enlargement of insurance underwriting in the past ten years to cover automobiles has brought about a proportionate increase in the number of questionable fires. A majority of such losses result from the premeditated and willful burning of property, "incendiary fires" according to the records and "arson" according to the criminal investigator. The automobile, due to its movability, varying value and its ability to carry a mortgage greater than value, lends itself particularly well to those individuals who seek to derive a profit or escape an obligation by the willful destruction of insured property. The prevalence of this vicious practice indicates both a disregard for the law and a lack of fear of detection in the minds of the offenders. Many officers and investigators have the idea that nothing can be done to prove a case of arson in connection with the burning of an automobile.

This article focuses on police investigation of the crime arson. The reason for an incendiary fire may be any one of the motives for arson. The general classifications of motivesfor arson set forth by Dr. R. C. Steinmetz in his book Arson in Times of War were outlined in the article. The reason, motive or incentive is not an essential element of the crime of arson. Therefore, it is not necessary to prove the motive in order to convict the arsonist, according to a law. Intent is an essential element of the crime of arson, but motive is not. Intent involves the will of the doer and indicates the willful, malicious nature of the burning. Motive involves the desire rather than the will and is the occasion which results in the act. In the investigation of a fire, the motive or possible motive will often influence the investigator in conducting his investigation. Records may not only serve to indicate the incentive for a fire, but the destruction of the records may indeed be the reason for the fire. In fraud fires, it is always necessary to consult records and often to produce them in court in order to convict the arsonist. It would be a very unusual case wherein a conviction for a fraud fire is obtained without the assistance of records.

The article examines possible legal problems of arson investigation arising under state fire marshal acts in the U.S. In an effort to increase the effectiveness of fire prevention authorities, more than three-quarters of the states have enacted fire marshal legislation. Such statutes have endeavored to clearly define and to enlarge the legal authority of fire prevention agencies. The right to inspect certain premises is included within the general police power retained by the individual states. However, the exercise of this power is limited both by specific provisions of state constitutions and by state statutes. State constitutions without exception prohibit unreasonable search and seizure. Such restrictions, however, are obviated by the use of a search warrant, which is issued only when probable cause is shown for the belief that the object sought is at a particular location. Furthermore, most states have statutes which specifically limit the fire marshal's right to enter and inspect. For instance, many of these statutes contain provisions restricting inspection to reasonable hours. Where a fire has already occurred or is in progress and a search of the premises is necessary to discover evidence of the cause, origin or circumstances of the fire, the fire marshal is theoretically subject to the same general constitutional and statutory limitations as were previously discussed.

This article offers advice on the extraction and identification of small amounts of accelerants from arson evidence. In arson fires where accelerants have been used, it is an essential part of the investigation to recover and identify the flammable material. If the exact type of flammable material is known, the investigators can more reliably determine the source from which it was obtained, or compare it with material that can be connected with the suspected arsonist. Since most of the accelerant is quickly consumed by the fire, the problem becomes one of recovering and identifying extremely small amounts of sample. The accelerants most often encountered are the petroleum hydrocarbons found in fuel oil, lubricating oil, kerosene, gasoline and naphtha. Gasoline and naphtha, being much more volatile than oil, cannot be satisfactorily extracted with ordinary solvents due to the equality of their evaporation rates. An aerating system was devised which uses no special apparatus or chemicals. This system is reasonably rapid and provides high recovery rates for very small amounts of gasoline or naphtha impregnated in wood, cotton and others. Fuel oil and lubricating oil can be extracted from the impregnated material with carbon tetrachloride as a solvent. The solvent is then evaporated at room temperature, the oil remaining in the evaporating dish. Several washings, with as small amounts of carbon tetrachloride as practical for the size of sample, has proven most successful. In experimental situations where hydrocarbons were added to cotton, recoveries were reported of more than 75% in all cases. Successful identifications of recovered samples of fuel oil, gasoline and naphtha have been accomplished in over twenty cases in the last three years using an infrared spectrophotometer. Successful identification of recovered samples of oil, gasoline and naphtha was experienced in all experimental situations using an infrared spectrophotometer.

This article features police science legal abstracts and notes as of January 1, 1956. In Arson: When Is a Trailer A Dwelling House?, a conviction of arson in the first degree was reversed and remanded for a new trial by the Supreme Court of Indiana on the ground that the state had failed to prove the corpus delicti independent of the confession of the defendant. Reasserting the general rule that the corpus delicti must be shown by some evidence of probative value aside from the confession, the court found that the failure of the prosecution to introduce any evidence to show that the fire had been ignited pursuant to a criminal design fell short of satisfying this requirement. The court disagreed on a second point raised on the appeal. This was that the trial court had erroneously concluded that the structure destroyed by the fire, a home-made trailer set up on blocks with its wheels removed and occupied continuously as a residence and place of habitation, was a dwelling house within the first degree arson state. Chief Justice Emmert took the position that since there are no common law crimes in Indiana the structure destroyed in the fire had to fall within the popular meaning of one of the terms employed in the arson statutes. He then reasoned that since the statute on motor vehicles regulates house trailers, since the word house has been popularly defined as being synonymous with building and since the state had failed to establish that this structure was a building of any sort, that the logical conclusion was that the trailer was still a vehicle and therefore should be regarded as personality falling within the third degree arson section.

Each arson investigator should take his own photos whether or not he has the services of a professional photographer. In all cases he should supervise and direct the photographic work done during his investigation. Throughout the investigation he should take care to insure that all photos taken will meet the legal requirements for admission into evidence. All arson investigators should take full advantage of the many uses of photography which are so well suited to assist in the highly specialized and difficult task of arson investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method is presented for separating volatile petroleum products from evidence in cases involving fires by use of ethylene glycol as a carrier liquid in place of water in an ordinary steam distillation. As compared with vacuum distillation, less apparatus is required, time is saved, and more complete recoveries are obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines several motives that exists for insurance fires. To begin with, and perhaps the most common motive, is a precarious financial condition brought on by business reversals, or brought on by other conditions, among which is high living. The suspect may be living beyond his means. He may have overstocked the store with seasonal articles, and the articles failed to move, as he anticipated. The need for ready cash is another motive for a fire. And again, the fire may be motivated by the desire of the owner to quickly liquidate the business, or the motive may be the settlement of an estate, or the dissolution of a partnership. Regardless of the motives in the insurance fires, the fire will follow a certain pattern. The modus operandi will vary as to the desired results. In a large building where a complete loss was desired, something must be done to aid the progress of the fire, such as various plants, trails and inflammables. In a smaller establishment, such as the retail stores, mercantile establishments, garment factories and other similar businesses, there is seldom the elaborate preparation as would be necessary in larger places. As a general rule, in the insurance fires, there need be no hurry to make the arrest. Seldom is there an open and shut case at the time of the original investigation. Confessions are rare in this type of fire, as the criminal has so much at stake. He prefers to take his chances in court and because there is such a large amount of money involved, usually in the thousands of dollars, he gets the best legal talent available. However, one of the most important and successful ways to combat fires of this type is to have trained arson investigators available 24 hours a day, so they can respond at the time these fires occur. The reason for this is that the investigators can take photographs of the evidence and secure same before it is disturbed by the fire fighters.

In summary of this discussion it is noted that sabotage is a real threat and that arson is a favorite tool of the saboteur. Further, that cooperation between civilian and military investigative authorities is firmly established in most areas, however, there is room for expansion of this cooperation as concerns arson through better exchange of information relative to suspects and those found guilty of fire setting. A central point of exchange or clearing house for this information would serve a highly useful purpose. Federal and military laws concerned with arson were discussed, as were federal laws applicable to sabotage and espionage during time of war and those applicable during peace. A recent article in the newspapers stated that Attorney General Brownell has asked Congress to allow that peace time spies be given capital punishment. He stated, "I fail to perceive any justification for such a distinction inasmuch as the essence of this crime is the intent to breach the national security, which security is of paramount importance whether in war or peace." The request for a change in the law includes power to prosecute for espionage activities committed any time in the past which would remove the present ten year statute of limitation. The Uniform Code of Military Justice was discussed with particular emphasis on the requirements in Article 31 to properly warn suspects who may be subject to the Code. On the possibility that the discussion concerning the warning not be entirely clear or cause confusion, it is pointed out that when military personnel are in the hands of civil or federal authorities for violations under these jurisdictions, they are subject to prosecution under state or federal laws, and the warning under Article 31 of the Code would not be applicable. However, it is advised that those directly connected with the military should review the Uniform Code of Military Justice with your legal officers to assure proper conformance with Article 31... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the difficulty of finding evidence of the corpus delicti in arson cases in the U.S. Most courts define the corpus delicti in terms of two elements necessary to show that there has been a crime: the legal injury and the criminal agency. Legal injury is the loss that the law seeks to prevent, such as death, appropriation of property, or burning of property, while criminal agency is the fact that the loss was caused by the criminal acts of some person. To establish the corpus delicti of arson the proof must show that there has been a burning of a structure or property protected by law, and that the fire resulted from the criminal acts of some person. The problem of obtaining evidence is complicated by the legal presumption that all fires start either by accident or by natural causes. Unless the cause of fire is particularly clear, the first step in proving the corpus delicti of arson should be to introduce evidence that eliminates the possibility of accidental origin. The corpus delicti of arson may generally be established by any evidence that satisfies the standard of legal relevancy. This includes all facts that tend to demonstrate the fire was ignited by design.

This article discusses the evidence of arson and its legal aspects. Evidence may be described as facts. Evidence when separated from all unrelated testimony becomes the truth described by a combination of statements or circumstances which logically arranged present the true facts. Therefore, the statements of true facts and the proving of the circumstances is what people must, under the ruling of the court, rely upon to establish or prove that a crime has been committed. The basic testimony admissible in the prosecution of an arson case includes the fact that an arson case must be tried in the county or parish in which it occurred so that the jurisdiction of the court is not challenged. Next, there must be sufficient burning or damage to constitute arson and the burning must be proven to be unlawful. The distinction between the burning of and setting fire to a building is so shadowy that some courts have denied its existence. Other courts have recognized that it is possible to set fire to certain property and yet by reason of the prompt extinction of the fire there may not be burning within the meaning of the law of arson. The location of inflammable materials may be shown to indicate that the accused was in a position to have such materials prior to the fire.

This article discusses physical evidence as it relates to arson cases. The basic types of incendiary fires discussed in the article are revenge, fraud and concealment of other crimes. There are numerous occasions, where a fire has not completely consumed or destroyed the materials used to start it. This may include trailers made of dynamite fuse, gasoline or oil-soaked paper or rags, mechanical devices or contrivances, set-ups using matches, cigarettes, or candles. In the arson case, the recognition of physical evidence carries with it an imperative rule that must be observed in every type of evidence that forms part of a chain in circumstantial cases. Namely, it must be consistent with the case, it must be incapable of explanation upon any other reasonable hypothesis than that of arson. The author concludes that many factors may be discovered in arson cases that may term circumstantial physical evidence, and it will be recognized by the investigator through observation at the scene of the fire or through the questioning of witnesses and firemen. This evidence may be composed of anything so arranged or devised as to delay the discovery of the fire, or to impede the efforts of the fire department in the extinguishment of the blaze.

This article discusses issues concerning the prevention of arson. Society reaches potential fire setters in many ways. For example, whatever constructive action is taken in the name of juvenile delinquency, whatever measures are taken to correct or improve conditions known to be conducive to juvenile delinquency are in fact a means to arson prevention. Every measure that is taken to provide wholesome surroundings, moral and ethical guidance, and directed recreational facilities removes the factors which often lead to fire setting by juveniles either from malicious mischief or from mental and emotional conflicts. There can be little doubt that deliberate fires are being prevented in many communities today as the result of the work of centers for mental hygiene and psychiatric examination. These are providing a public service that is quite new and reaches not only those who are in the toils of the law for reasons other than fire, but also in bringing aid to the apparently normal citizen whose burden of woe threatens to swamp him. Arson like other crimes is a covert act, and as such the most effective deterrent, the most effective prevention, lies in the fear of detection. Rational persons do not commit offenses when they know that there is a good chance of their being caught. Conversely, the secure feeling that they will not be found out is an open invitation to set fires.

The article presents news briefs relation to criminal law and law enforcement as of May 1953. The ninth annual seminar and training course in the detection and investigation of arson was conducted April 27-May 1, at Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana. Over 2,000 investigators and others interested in the control and prevention of arson have attended the annual courses. India's jail administration and penal code will be drastically revised if the government adopts the recommendations of a United Nations Technical Assistance (UNTA) expert in criminology. Walter C. Reckless, a criminologist at Ohio State University on loan to UNTA, has completed a survey of the entire jail administration and penal code and has proposed a draft of new bills which could be proposed to the Indian legislature. The annual conference of the Society for the Advancement of Criminology was held in April 4 at the University of California in Berkeley. Noteworthy among the leading journals of the field is the International Criminal Police Review, published by the International Criminal Police Commission as a means of drawing international professional relations into closer focus.

The article discusses several issues which could have practical application in dealing with arson. There is a strong similarity between the arsonist and the sex offender, both etiologically and symptomatically, and in the reaction they elicit from the community, justice, and our law-enforcing agencies. The crime of arson is a treacherous one. It often strikes at those beyond the scope of the arsonist's design, if we can say that some of them have designs. There is the case of a youngster of 15, who set a fire in a private dwelling and as a result was sentenced to a reformatory. According to his reformatory record he was a model inmate. To the astonishment of the authorities concerned with this youth, a few months after his release, he developed a devilish plan of burglary which, naturally, revolved around fire setting. The boy contended that he had set the fires merely in order to successfully burglarize the homes; that he did not derive any pleasure from the fires themselves. There is a certain redundancy in the term pathological fire setter because in effect all fire setting must be considered pathological. In summation it is suggested that in every case of arson the skills and knowledge of psychiatry should be regularly employed both in evaluating the patient and in the subsequent disposal of the case.

The article discusses the value of medicolegal autopsy to the arson and criminal investigators. There are several different kinds of death; causes of which can be by a direct or indirect act, by omission or failure to perform certain acts. Death can be accidental, homicidal, suicidal, or natural. The thing or principle that distinguishes these deaths is their cause. However, it is extremely difficult to establish the cause of death in all instances. It can be shown by statistics that where a thorough and competent investigation has been made, between 10 and 20 percent of all murders were cases of death unwitnessed and without external marks of violence. These are the cases so often reported as cardiac failure, acute indigestion, alcoholic intoxication, drowning, fires, or automobile accident. A misleading interpretation is too often given by our coroners or even by members of our own profession. Experience has taught us that the burning of a building and the finding of a body does not necessarily mean that the body is the owner of the building nor the occupant of the premises, nor does it mean that death occurred as a result of the fire. The identity of a deceased person in homicide investigations is of extreme importance. There is the problem of insurance payment, dissolution of business associations and partnerships, question of remarriage of survivors, probation of wills and estates. Then, too, identification is necessary to forestall fraudulent attempts to collect insurance, false claims of death to guard against the desire of some persons to disappear and as a necessary step in prosecution of homicide.

The article presents a study on some of the characteristics of female arsonists who are in the English Special Hospitals in England. The study offers a comparison between the social, psychological and psychiatric data. Specifically, the study primarily examines the social, criminal and psychiatric history of these patients including their involvement in firesetting. The results of the study indicated that arsonists differ in a number of respects, such as the source of referral and the legal category under which they are detained. Significant differences are also accounted with respect to the arsonist early environment, sexual behavior and overt aggressive behavior.

The article presents a study on the behavior of arsonists admitted at special security Rampton Hospital in Great Britain. Male patients in the psychology department in the course of one calendar year were selected as a sample group. Results indicated that arsonists showed a higher conditioning rate. Most of them had a psychotic overlay and a history of attempted suicide. A greater variety of psychiatric symptoms were detected in these individuals than subnormal and psychopathic offenders in the hospital.

This article explores the world of arsonists and firesetting. The arsonist has not been the object of typing, a situation which is perhaps a reflection of the scarcity of such offenses as reported in official criminal statistics. The early writings on illegal firesetting date back to the latter part of the eighteenth century to a group of German theorists, who concluded that it was a phenomenon perpetrated by physically and mentally retarded girls, of rural areas, who were undergoing the stresses of puberty. The concern of the early theorists was the classification of firesetters under the term instinctive monomania or pyromania, which, according to the prevailing legal codes, defined an individual as insane and not accountable for his actions. Not only has the literature relating to arson been dominated by disciplines other than sociology and criminology, but the majority of the late studies have concentrated upon the incendiary tendencies of juveniles. On the basis of the motivational patterns of the offenders, they were typed into six behavioral categories: revenge firesetters, excitement firesetters, institutionalized firesetters, insurance-claim firesetters vandalism firesetters, firesetters who use arson to cover up another crime.