RT Article
T1 Using environmental criminology theories to compare ‘youth misuse of fire’ across age groups in New South Wales
JF The Australian and New Zealand journal of criminology
VO 50
IS 1
SP 100
OP 122
A1 Pooley, Kamarah
A1 Ferguson, Claire E.
LA English
YR 2017
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1736844970
AB Youth misuse of fire is a substantive community concern. Despite evidence which indicates youths account for a significant proportion of all deliberately lit fires within Australia, an absence of up-to-date, contextually specific research means the exact scope and magnitude of youth misuse of fire within Australia remains unknown. Despite research suggesting commonalities exist between youth misuse of fire and juvenile offending more broadly, misuse of fire is rarely explained using criminological theory. In light of this gap, a descriptive analysis of youth misuse of fire within New South Wales was performed. Routine Activity Theory and Crime Pattern Theory were tested to explain differences in misuse of fire across age groups. Results suggest these environmental theories offer useful frameworks for explaining youth misuse of fire in New South Wales. It is argued that the Routine Activity Theory and Crime Pattern Theory can be employed to better inform youth misuse of fire policy and prevention efforts.
K1 Arson
K1 Crime pattern theory
K1 Firesetting
K1 Juvenile delinquency
K1 Routine activity theory
K1 Youth crime
DO 10.1177/0004865815596794