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Arson charges on the rise

A record number of people have been charged with bushfire arson offences over summer as part of an anti-arson operation.

Police today revealed 42 people have been charged with 63 bushfire offences between December 1 and March 31.

Emergency Services Minister Joe Francis praised the efforts of officers involved in Strike Force Vulcan, as well as the firefighters who have been on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week during the bushfire season.

During the past four months 719 fires have been dealt with by emergency services in the metropolitan region, only slightly up on the 2013-2014 season’s figure of 714.

When the anti-arson operation began in December 2011, 1037 fires were recorded.

Of the 719 fires this bushfire period, nearly three quarters of them were arson incidents.

Det-Sen. Sgt Craig White attributed the success of this year’s operation to the cooperation from the Department of Emergency Services and the Department of Parks and Wildlife, and more importantly to information and assistance by members of the public.

“We work tirelessly to apprehend the persons involved in lighting fires and that takes up a great deal of effort and time, it’s a very difficult offence to investigate and without the members of the public’s support we wouldn’t be able to achieve these results,” he said.

Police dealt with 36 children, predominantly boys aged between 10 and 17, who were caught lighting fires.

All three dozen offenders were referred onto the successful JAFFA program which aims to teach children about the inherent dangers of fire.

“Any bushfire is a tragedy and unfortunately with the number of juveniles we’re dealing with, we would appeal to members of the public who have kids of their own, especially boys… please talk to your children, explain to them the dangers of lighting bushfires, they cannot be controlled and the consequences can be horrific and can affect you for the rest of your life,” Det-Sen. Sgt White said.

A research project conducted by Bond University and Edith Cowan University will look into the reasons behind why young boys light fires and what can be done to deter them from engaging in such activities. The results are expected prior to the start of the next bushfire season.

Mr Francis said the results from the most recent Strike Force Vulcan should act as a warning to anyone thinking of lighting a fire.

“The chances of getting caught if you do this are increasing, they are increasing and it’s a big gamble to take.

“If you want to risk playing with matches, if you want to risk lighting a fire, you are risking people’s lives, people’s houses, the lives of firefighters and everyone else who helps tackle that, and more importantly you are likely to destroy your life. Even if you don’t injure yourself doing it, you can do a long time in jail and it’s not a pleasant experience,” he said.