Citizen Involvement Is Key to Success of Dallas Campaign Against Arson
Features
Dallas Fire Department photos
The fact that arson has been the single leading cause of fires in Dallas since 1971 impelled the Dallas Fire Department to launch a campaign that has already attained some success.
Incendiary fires were responsible for 30.3 percent of the total fire loss in Dallas in 1977 and investigators determined that arson accounted for 28 percent of the 3212 structural fires that year. Arson had increased 87 percent since 1972.
Something had to be done about arson in Dallas. Not only were citizens unaware and indifferent to the extent of arson, but the arsonists themselves had never been identified as a menace to the community. There was a definite need to create public indignation over arson.
Two objectives
It was hardly feasible to brand each arsonist with a scarlet letter, but we felt it was essential to develop some sort of campaign that would accomplish two things:
1. A reduction in the incidence of arson in our city, and
2. An increased awareness by citizens of the extent of our arson problem so they would have a better understanding of the effect of arson on our community.
We believed the key to the arson problem was a community awareness campaign which would encourage citizen participation, along with efforts by insurance and law enforcement agencies, to significantly reduce the spiraling cost of arson in Dallas.
Together with the Independent Insurance Agents of Dallas, the Dallas Fire Department launched the Burn an Arsonist for Cold Cash campaign on August 1, 1978. This multimedia-supported citywide campaign consisted of numerous elements aimed at encouraging Dallas citizens to help in our fight against arson.
Press kit issued
Using the theme, “Burn an Arsonist for Cold Cash,” we distributed press kits containing four news releases on various aspects of the arson problem and the intent of our campaign. Official proclamations were issued from the mayor’s office, at the county commissioner’s meeting, and through the governor’s office proclaiming August as “Arson Awareness Month” in the City of Dallas, Dallas County and throughout the state.
A 24-hour arson hotline was established to urge citizens to call the Dallas Fire Department and provide our investigators with possible tips or details leading to the apprehension of arsonists.
A $5000 reward fund was instigated as an incentive for citizen participation. We wanted the community to know arson affects every individual where it hurts—in the pocketbook—and we heavily publicized the availability of money from this $5000 reward fund.
Our public awareness campaign promised that any citizen who provided information leading to the arrest and conviction of an arsonist would become eligible to receive an award from this fund. Signs to this effect were posted by arson investigators at the site of every incendiary fire after the kickoff of the campaign.
Billboards, signs used
Since the fire department’s fire and arson investigation division’s budget did not have money for such a campaign, the HAD helped finance the $5000 reward fund, as well as the majority of the additional material for the campaign.
Billboards emphasizing the theme of the arson campaign were strategically placed. Signs were also mounted inside Dallas Transit System buses, and larger signs were displayed at the rear of these city buses. Additional signs were posted at every fire station and on the side of all our apparatus.
Newspaper ads were placed in the local papers. Statement stuffers detailing the specifics of the campaign were included in bank mailings and in grocery bags. Public service announcements and slides were provided to all area TV and radio stations to help build public awareness of the arson problem in Dallas. In addition, fire department public information personnel continually scheduled talk shows and radio and TV interviews to discuss various aspects of the arson campaign in greater detail.
A press conference was held to announce the campaign’s goals and to publicize the HAD donation of combustible gas detectors to the arson investigation division of the Dallas Fire Department.
Media cooperation
To help assure the effectiveness of the campaign and remembering that one major goal was increased citizen awareness of the arson problem, we made every attempt to see that the media understood both our dilemma and our campaign proposals. Their repeated efforts to continually remind their audiences of our “Burn an Arsonist for Cold Cash” campaign, through news and public service coverage, were our best means of reaching the citizens of Dallas.
Once all our ammunition was organized, the real heart of the effort centered around the fire and arson investigation division of our fire prevention bureau.
Because of a recent ruling by the Supreme Court in Michigan vs. Tyler, we placed arson investigators on duty 24 hours a day. Working around the clock, these fire department personnel were able to obtain consents to search at the fire scene in order to gather evidence and interrogate witnesses. This eliminated the need for search warrants at the fire scene later, after the fire had been overhauled and witnesses had dispersed.
Manning a van specifically designed for the arson division, these investigators responded to every fire where lines were laid. They discussed each situation with battalion chiefs and fire fighters. Witnesses were questioned on the premises and were given printed statements regarding the arson campaign and the reward fund in particular.
Arson investigators, outfitted in special protective gear, scrounged amid debris, collecting samples and various bits of evidence to send for processing at the county crime labs. They took photos at the scene and provided information to reporters in cases where arson was suspected as the cause of the fire.
Have power of arrest
As certified peace officers, the fire department investigators were able to make arrests.
When the investigators finished each night’s shift, they relayed all the details of the incidents that had occurred overnight to their relief investigators. Once the daytime investigators received this information, they initiated another chain of events to perpetuate the campaign efforts.
Signs were posted at the scene of fires determined to be of incendiary origin. Tips received via the arson hotline were pursued through discussions with witness. Polygraphs were administered when interrogating suspects and other persons providing information. Computerized terminals were utilized to obtain and confirm the necessary details of fire response and department findings.
Photographs were processed by fire department personnel and debris samples were examined and processed at the county criminal lab.
Once a case was solidly wrapped up, these certfied peace officers documented their evidence and prepared formal arson charges for filing at the County Courthouse.
Arson costs emphasized
Meanwhile, we continued to stress every aspect of the arson investigation process in our discussions with members of the media. Public information representatives emphasized the losses from arson at the scene of the fire, as well as during formally scheduled broadcasts. Whenever arson arrests were made and formal arson charges were filed, the media was notified. The resulting publicity served as a deterrent to other potential arsonists. Coverage of our arson awareness campaign grew steadily. In contrast to an earlier, largely uneducated and uninformed community in regard to arson, we were witnessing new curiosity, additional input and citizen feedback, and heightened awareness of the problem.
Fortunately, all the hard work has paid off. As of last March 31, after eight months of the “Burn an Arsonist for Cold Cash” program, we have witnessed a 26 percent decrease in the number of arson fires in Dallas as compared to this same eight-month period a year previously. Similarly, our overall fire incidence rate has reflected a 13.2 percent decrease in the number of structure fires in comparison with the previous period a year ago.
With respect to incendiary dollar loss figures, the year-end total of $4,761,392 as of December 31, 1978, reflects a considerable decrease over totals in previous years. More recent statistics indicate that damages resulting from the 403 incendiary fires during the first eight months of the campaign totaled $3,401,522. That figure represents a 19 percent decrease from the $4,203,760 incendiary damage loss for the same period a year previously.
Equally important, the number of adults charged with arson increased 60 percent in the eight months of this campaign when compared with the same period in 1977-78. Sixty-seven adult arson cases have been filed and an additional 215 juveniles have been apprehended. The number of incendiary fires cleared by these arrests reached a total of 165, representing a 57 percent increase during our campaign when contrasted with figures from the previous year.
Throughout the campaign, citizen involvement has been urged and rewarded. A Distinguished Service Award was presented at the site of one arson fire in which three sleeping residents were alerted and brought to safety by a courageous youth who responded to their needs while the fire department was en route.
More recently, a press conference was held when the IIAD and the fire department awarded a $1000 check to a citizen whose testimony led to the arrest and four-year sentence of an arsonist in her neighborhood. The $5000 fund continues to be replenished and publicized as an encouragement for other citizens to reap the benefits of aiding us in our arson campaign efforts.
The publicity we have generated in terms of newspaper and magazine articles, as well as radio and TV broadcasts, has been exceptional. Members of the local media have been extremely supportive. One local radio broadcaster from KBOX initiated a series of programs on arson that ultimately won first place in the statewide media competition on arson sponsored by the Texas Advisory Council on Arson. In February, a television reporter and photographer team with the NBC affiliate, Channel 5, researched, produced, and promoted an entire series, entitled “Money to Burn,” which ran during the 10 o’clock news every night for one week.
National recognition
In addition to local coverage, our “Burn an Arsonist for Cold Cash” campaign has received state as well as national recognition. Press releases sent to national fire service organizations and publications have resulted in several articles noting the success of the Dallas effort against arson. On March 14, the Dallas Fire Department and the Independent Insurance Agents of Dallas received the Group Award presented in Austin by the Texas Advisory Council on Arson in honor of the most effective arson awareness campaign in Texas.
We’re proud of these results, and we have every intention of continuing our fight against arson. The possibility of changes in state legislation which would further help our efforts looks promising. Although arson still exists, we believe we have found a solution that works for Dallas, and we believe a similar one exists for your city.
An effective program will first require a commitment on your part as well as the coordinated efforts of your insurance agencies, law enforcement personnel and, most importantly, the citizens of your community.
