Author: Brendan P. Battle

Publisher:

Published: 1954

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13:

Developed from law enforcement and insurance case files, this investigator's handbook outlines various types of arson and examines the statutory, crime detection, and evidence-gathering aspects of fire investigation. Characterizing arson as a neglected crime and charting its growth during the last decade, the rest of the text focuses on the legal and forensic aspects of arson law enforcement. Areas covered include common law arson and statewide codes; direct and circumstantial evidence, opinion evidence, the exclusionary rule, and the admissibility of electronic surveillance evidence; overt arson, fire-setting mechanisms, and motive and intent; insurance fires; hate fires including those arising from racial, religious, or landlord-tenant antagonisms; hate bombings; pyromaniacs including juvenile and mentally ill fire-setters; and arson to facilitate such crimes as murder, burglary, and destruction of records. Securing and inspecting the crime scene, interviewing and interrogating witnesses and suspects, pursuing a continuing investigation, and detecting and breaking organized arson rings are also covered. Twelve case studies are also provided, dealing with killer fires, sufficiency of evidence, aggravated arson, search and seizure, expert arsonists, motive, motive and opportunity, pre-Miranda confessions, problems of unfocused investigations, suspicious fires, corpus delicti and identity, and determining the prime suspect. A glossary, references, selected bibliography, and index are included.