Arson
Arson is defined as the criminal act of deliberately setting fire to property. It is a willful and malicious act that usually involves buildings but can involve intentional burning of other things such as cars or forests. A common motive for arson is insurance fraud, in these cases, a person deliberately destroys their own property and then lies about the cause to collect an insurance payout. Pyromania is an impulse control disorder in which individuals cannot control their urges to start fires, this is different to arson as pyromaniacs start fires for the euphoric release they feel whereas arson is generally the setting of fires for personal gain. The Macdonald triad (also known as the homicidal triad) is a set of three factors, the presence of any two are considered a predictor of violent tendencies and especially homicidal urges. This triad involves arson or fire-starting and also animal cruelty and persistent bed-wetting past a certain age. It has been suggested that arson is a less severe or first attempt at releasing anger and aggression. Bruce George Peter Lee was a British serial killer who confessed to 11 acts of arson. David Berkowitz, also known as the Son of Sam, was also known to start fires and some sources indicate he may have been responsible for up to 1400 fires.
