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It's Arson Awareness Week - Burn an Arsonist - Call the SC Arson Hotline 1-800-92-ARSON
May 8, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Allison Dean Love
803-252-3455 or cell phone 803-413-1044
alove@scinsnews.com
Columbia, S.C. - Monday, May 8, 2006 - Every year in South Carolina, millions of dollars worth of property is destroyed due to arson. About one in every four fires is intentionally set. In 2005, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division's (SLED) Arson Team received 186 arson cases and investigated over $2 million in property losses. During the first quarter of 2006, SLED's Arson Team received 57 cases of arson.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, arsonists destroyed over $850 million in insured property and killed 320 civilians nationwide in 2004. While the number of arson cases has declined, the amount of propety damage and lives lost have increased since 2003.
Nationally, arson crimes are hard to solve—only 17 percent of cases ended in arrests in 2004. In South Carolina, nearly 32% of the 2005 cases have been cleared by arrest and so far in 2006 nearly 24% have been cleared by arrest.
Vandalism is the leading cause of arson. An Insurance Research Council study suggests only 14 percent of arson suspects are motivated by a desire to defraud an insurance company but other studies find it higher. Between 20 and 25 percent of arson fires are drug-related.
Children under the age of 18 are responsible for almost half of the arson fires set in the United States.
"These statistics demonstrate the need for community support in our efforts to reduce and solve arson crimes. National Arson Awareness Week should make all of us more responsive to our local fire and law enforcement department's call for community support in this effort," says Captain Bill Graham of SLED’s Arson Team.
"We hope to raise South Carolina's consciousness of these costly arson fires and the steps that are being taken to combat it. Arson is a serious and deadly crime, but South Carolina has a statewide program aimed at putting arsonists behind bars - the South Carolina Arson Hotline," says Allison Dean Love, Executive Director of the South Carolina Insurance News Service.
Several arson fires around South Carolina remain unsolved. A tip to the South Carolina Arson Hotline (1-800-92-ARSON) could help solve those arson fire cases in South Carolina and lead to a reward for the caller. Information provided through the SC Arson Hotline could help authorities arrest and convict the arsonists in South Carolina. Callers can remain anonymous.
► The South Carolina Arson Hotline serves as a reporting mechanism for juvenile offenders and all arsonists in South Carolina.
► The South Carolina Arson Hotline (1-800-92-ARSON) is a statewide, toll-free number, available 24 hours a day, for reporting information about suspicious fires.
► Arson fires increase the cost of insurance to all consumers.
► Arson Hotline yard signs, posters, cards and bumper stickers are available FREE from the South Carolina Insurance News Service.
The South Carolina Arson Hotline has been a joint program of the South Carolina Insurance News Service and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) since 1982. Hotline rewards are funded by the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of SC Foundation.
For more information, contact the South Carolina Insurance News Service at 803-252-3455 or use our contact form.
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