Report from the Arson Control Forum Good Practice conference 2005: this was the second national conference of the Arson Control Forum. The focus this year was on working with young people. A summary of the day's main events, key messages and talking points is outlined here

ANDY BAKER SET THE TONE: "We need an intelligent approach to intelligence."

Jim Fitzpatrick put the Forum's work in the context of the national strategy and emphasised that working in partnership is the key to success. He reminded us that the 2004 Crime and Disorder Act empowered agencies and enabled Fire Services to focus on prevention. Now the focus is on working with young people and he cited the remarkable results being delivered by intervention schemes like the London Fire Brigade's LIFE project.

David Harvey explained the significance of [inks between Fire Services, Crime and Disorder Reduction Units and the Youth Justice Board. He set forth the characteristics of typical young offenders and how fire setters may differ. The challenge he put forward: "link up the different agencies, problem solve in partnerships and disseminate best practice."

Jude England shared some early findings from a major study that Ecotec is doing on youth training in the UK and its relationship to the Fire Service.

Martin Hall shared the success of the intervention programmes he has devised and implemented in Staffordshire. What has made these schemes so successful is that they are tied up with cognitive behaviour therapy techniques, consequential thinking, problem-solving and making choices. All together, it is a very powerful tool. Martin's programmes are now running at a 97 per cent success rate. He echoed Kevin's warning that inappropriate interventions could be causing more harm than good. He was emphatic that the intervention has to be tailored to the individual

Alan Briggs had an equally positive tale to tell from his experiences of managing community safety projects in Cheshire. As a result of their efforts, the first quarter of this year is showing very positive. They have got ODPM funding for a seconded police officer who works with them and that is proving very useful. They have maintained a Local focus that is very much a partnership approach. They are linked into the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership across the county because they know what they are trying to achieve cannot be done in isolation. Alan emphasised the view that it is hard work getting different agencies to cooperate but it is worth it.

Larry Stokes has been involved with tackling arson for many years. He also has had very encouraging results from his work with Arson Combated Together (ACT). He told us that theatre in education is a powerful too[. It brings the messages home because it is visual and memorable. The teachers have been very impressed by what it can do, and how the kids can interact. He pointed out that the toolkit is available to every brigade in the UK. It can be taken off the shelf and used immediately and he would recommend it 100 per cent.

Summary of the day: the speakers

As a test of the theory that you cannot just apply one fixed intervention to any and all offenders, the arson task force decided to take the next two calls that came in and see how similar or different the offenders were.

At first glance, the two incidents appeared to be almost identical. A young person had been seen setting fire to rubbish and reported.

But when investigated further, they could not have been more different. For the eight year old, it was his first offence. He was 'fire-curious'. That was it. The 16 year old, by contrast, was the member of a gang. Their ages ranged from 12 to 19. The eldest had [earning difficulties so the 16 year old was, in effect, the leaden It was the only place where he felt valued, where he got respect. It turned out that he was responsible for over 70 fires!

So can you apply the same intervention to any offender? I think not.

Joined Up Thinking

The question is: are we providing a seamless service or is it more of a quick fix sticking plaster approach? Take the example of a house on an estate in Cambridgeshire. This one house received 76 visits from the emergency services over the course of three years--always for different incidents.

It seemed obvious that alcoholism was the root of the problem as the Lady could barely stand. Then, it turned out that it was in fact, learning difficulties that were the cause of this person becoming a 'repeat victim'. Was there good communications between the different emergency services as a result of joined up thinking? Definitely not.

Summary of the day: the speakers' cautionary tales

The afternoon was dedicated to a series of workshops addressing various aspects of arson prevention with a special focus on working with young people. These are the key issues that emerged:

* Partnership between different agencies is critical

* Targeting and tailoring programmes to individuals

* Listening to young people/bringing the kids in to the circle

* Identifying young people at risk early on

* Educating the young, their parents and teachers

* Embedding firefighters in Local schools

* Involving young people and treating them with respect

* Helping them understand the consequences of actions

* Outreach programmes for excluded children

* Influencing educators

* The importance of evaluations

* Building in evaluations from the beginning

* External evaluations can be cost effective

* Common protocols for information sharing

Themes coming through loud and clear from all sides:

* The need for central support and resources, perhaps in the form of a practitioner's web site

* The provision of specialist training for working with the young

* The concern about future funding

* The suggestion of regional forums with their own days Like this one.

Summary of the day: the workshops

We have got to think differently--intelligently. Our work must be evidence based. We will pick up the issues of funding. We will join up the Home Office and the ODPM.

There is strategic support to the Crime and Disorder Reduction Units--we will pick that up. We will carry forward the questions and suggestions from the workshops. I'd like to finish as I started, by thanking you for the investment you make on a daily basis into tackling these issues.

Please keep working together, please keep creating these successful programmes on a multi-agency basis.

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