America has a severe but hidden arson problem because the reporting system for deliberately set building fires is so chaotic and patchwork that most arsons are not reported to the federal government.
According to the FBI's Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report, the nation experienced a 5.5 percent decrease in the number of violent crimes and a 2.8 percent decline in the number of property crimes in 2010 when compared with data from 2009. The report is based on information the FBI gathered from 13,007 law enforcement agencies that submitted six to 12 comparable months of data for both 2009 and 2010.
While arson may be committed by business people, it should not be thought of as a white-collar crime. The reporting of a fire as accidental, when it is known to be arson is a crime. Just one very important point: “Washington law has long recognized the presumption that a fire is accidental, unless proven otherwise,” meaning that the insurance companies have a hill to climb to prove arson.
