28th July, 2015
An analysis of fires at houses of worship in the US over the past 20 years has found about half were deliberately lit.
Drawing on data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), The Pew Research Center analysis found that of the 4,705 reported fire incidents between 1996 and 2015, 2,378 or 51 per cent have been ruled intentional.
But, while a recent spate of fires at black churches has again raised concerns in the US about racially motivated arson, the data shows the proportion of church fires caused by arson has remained relatively stable while the number of intentional fires – the term includes both arson and bombing incidents – has been dropping.
An average of 191 intentional fires were recorded at churches each year between 1996 and 2000 but that average number dropped to 74 between 2010 and 2014 – a figure which equates to around 48 per cent of all church fires.
Arson at churches remains, however, far more common than at other types of non-residential buildings where only about 10 per cent of fires are intentional (with residential fires the figure is five per cent).
According to Pew, the ATF have so far ruled 29 of the 79 fires which have taken place at houses of worship between the start of the year and 14th July to be intentional although some investigations are ongoing.
While church arson was relatively common during the civil rights movement of the mid-20th century, it was only in 1996 that, prompted by findings showing that black churches in the south of the US were particularly targeted by arsonists, President Bill Clinton signed the Church Arson Prevention Act and established a National Church Arson Taskforce. Since then, the ATF has assumed the responsibility of investigating the origins of all fires at houses of worship in the US.
– DAVID ADAMS
