Burning issue of delinquency

THE deadly fire at the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz in Kampung Datuk Keramat which killed 23 pupils and two school wardens has been described as the country’s worst fire disaster in 20 years.

According to statistics from the Fire and Rescue Department, a staggering 211 fires at religious schools have been recorded nationwide from 2015 to 2017. In the first three months of 2017 alone, 30 cases were reported with losses totalling RM1.4mil.

In the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz case, arson was found to be the cause of the fire, and the issue of why the perpetrators did it warrants some consideration.

Criminologists have identified the following motivations for arson.

> Crime concealment: The fire is used to cover a crime incident and destroy evidence such as records or documents;

> Economic gain: Fire is set for profit motivated or monetary gain. The arsonist may be trying to escape financial obligations, increase property value, commit insurance fraud or to intimidate or eliminate business competition.

> Extremist ideology: Arson is committed due to political, social or religious reasons. In such cases, the perpetrators are very organised and have specific targets.

> Acts of delinquency: These cases usually involve youths aged 17 years and below who could be suffering from aggression or mental disorders. With their compromised sense of responsibility, they vandalise and set fire to abandoned or stolen vehicles.

> Excitement: Such arsonists set fire for thrill-seeking (pyrophilia) and rarely intend to harm anyone. There may also be sexual gratification (pyromania) in setting fires.

> Vandalism: Arson is committed because the perpetrator is bored or experiencing anti-social behaviour.

> Revenge: The fire is set by the perpetrator to retaliate against certain persons or some perceived injustice. Revenge-motivated arson includes personal retaliation, intimidation, social retaliation or institutional retaliation. Most offenders have previous police records, use drugs and con- sume alcohol. A revenge-motivated fire may result in deadly consequences.

Pathological fire-setting involves persons who have a psychiatric or other medical disorder whereas arson for financial gain is profit motivated.

It has been reported that the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz fire was an act of revenge by suspects aged between 11 and 18 who have since been arrested. Six of them reportedly tested positive for ganja use.

This brings us to the bigger issue of why some of our young people are leaning towards anti-social behaviour.

Very likely, the perpetrators come from broken families and may have had a poor upbringing or suffered from parental abuse or neglect. They may have also lacked positive inputs in their lives and empathy from their communities.

The relevant authorities and parents have to wage war on juvenile delinquency with the following measures:

> Solve socio-economic problems among the poor;

> Build better houses, as crowded homes encourage youths to stay out;

> Review and rebrand religious and moral studies in school;

> Pay attention to weak students and classes in school;

> Create a platform for monitoring school dropouts;

> Focus on drug abuse in schools (one report says there are 70 new drug addicts per day);

> Develop effective parenting skills, and spend quality time with children; and

> Recruit more specialist counsellors.

Was the fire in that school a tragedy waiting to happen? It seems so, whether from an immediate failure of the system or the environmental factor. There must be strong-willed parents, community and the Government to take this up seriously and cooperate to prevent such tragedies from happening again. The wellbeing of our next generation depends on it.

DATUK AKHBAR SATAR Institute of Crime & Criminology HELP University