The characteristics and treatment needs of fire setters with intellectual disability: descriptive data and comparisons between offence type
| Date | 28 November 2019 |
| Pages | 82-88 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JIDOB-10-2016-0019 |
| Published date | 28 November 2019 |
| Author | Ashlee Curtis,Keith R. McVilly,Andrew Day,William R. Lindsay,John L. Taylor,Todd E. Hogue |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Learning & intellectual disabilities,Offending behaviour,Sociology,Sociology of crime & law,Deviant behaviour,Education,Special education/gifted education,Emotional/behavioural disorders |
The characteristics and treatment needs
of fire setters with intellectual disability:
descriptive data and comparisons
between offence type
Ashlee Curtis, Keith R. McVilly, Andrew Day, William R. Lindsay, John L. Taylor and
Todd E. Hogue
Abstract
Purpose –Fire setters who have an intellectual disability (ID) are often identified as posing a particular danger
to the community although relatively little is known about their characteristics, treatment and support needs.
The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach –This study describes the characteristics of 134 residents of low,
medium and high security ID facilities in the UK who have either an index offence of arson, a violent index
offence or a sexual index offence.
Findings –Index arson offenders who had an ID had multiple prior convictions, a history of violent offending
and a high likelihood of having a comorbid mental disorder. There were many shared characteristics across
the three groups.
Practical implications –The current study suggests that offenders who have ID who set fires have
treatment needs that are similar to those of violent and sex offenders. It follows that fire setters who have an ID
may also benefit from participating in more established offending behaviour treatment programs, such as
cognitive behaviour therapy programs, developed for other types of offender.
Originality/value –This study is one of the few which has investigated the characteristics and treatment needs
of persons who have an ID who set fires. In particular, it is one of the first to compare the characteristics and
treatment needs for persons with ID who set fires, to those who have committed violent and sexual offences.
Keywords Intellectual disability, Characteristics, Arson, Fire setting, Treatment, Needs
Paper type Research paper
Fire setters have often been identified as having an intellectual disability (ID) ( Johnston, 2004;
Inciardi, 1970; Fineman, 1995), yet there have been few empirical investigations into the
characteristics of this group, and progress in the development of specialised interventions has
been much slower thanfor offenders who have committed violent or sexualoffences (Curtis et al.,
2012). In fact, much of our current knowledge about fire setters with ID comes mostly from
descriptive studies that were conducted 20 years ago. For example, Murphy and Clare (1996)
described the characteristics of ten fire setters with ID whose ages ranged from 18 to 38
(M¼26.4, SD ¼7.5), with IQs, as measured by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised
(Wechsler,1981), ranging from 60 to 78 (M¼68.4, SD ¼5.7). The fire setterswith ID in this sample
were reported to commonly feel angry, not listened to, and sad or depressed before setting fires.
Harris and Rice (1996), in their study of 243 fire setters from a maximum security psychiatric
institution,reported that of all the differentgroups described within their study,the “multi f ire-setter”
group were the least intelligent, had a history of setting fires and displayed high levels of
aggression. This latter finding, relating to a previous history of aggression is noteworthy in light
of evidence from somestudies that fire setters with ID have low levelsof aggression (Blanco et al.,
2010) with others reporting high levels and histories of violent offending (Dickens et al., 2007).
Received 26 October 2016
Revised 8 December 2016
Accepted 9 December 2016
Since the time of writing this paper
William R. Lindsay regrettably died.
Ashlee Curtis is based at the
School of Psychology, Deakin
University, Melbourne, Australia.
Keith R. McVilly and Andrew Day
are both based atthe School of
Social and PoliticalSciences,
The University of Melbourne,
Melbourne, Australia.
William R. Lindsay is based at
the Division of Psychology,
Abertay University, Dundee, UK
and Division of Psychology,
Danshell Health, UK.
John L. Taylor is Professor at
the Department of Clinical
Psychology, Northumbria
University, Newcastle upon
Tyne, UK.
Todd E. Hogue is based at the
Lincoln University, Lincoln, New
Zealand.
PAGE82
j
JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AND OFFENDING BEHAVIOUR
j
VOL. 10 NO. 4 2019, pp.82-88, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2050-8824 DOI 10.1108/JIDOB-10-2016-0019
To continue reading
Request your trial