Number of arson attacks in Charnwood nearly triples
THE number of arson attacks in Charnwood nearly tripled in the past year, rising from to 26 to 71.
And across the whole county the figures have soared, as experts warn that fire services are “overstretched and under resourced”.
Exclusive analysis of the latest crime data by LeciestershireLive has revealed that there were 360 cases of arson recorded by police in the county in the 12 months to September 2018.
That included 91 serious cases of arson where someone’s life was put in danger by the blaze.
The total number is up from 282 arson attacks the year before - an increase of 28 per cent in a single year, which is much sharper than the national average.
In particular, Charnwood saw the number of arson attacks nearly triple, rising from just 26 in the 12 months to September 2017 to 71 attacks in the last year.
Despite this, Leicester still has the highest rate of arson in our area, with 160 attacks recorded in the last year - 45 for every 100,000 people.
That’s nearly three times as high as some other parts of Leicestershire.
Across England and Wales, 26,916 arson attacks were recorded by police in the year to September - a rise of just 1% from 26,534 the year before.
Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said: “We are deeply concerned by the significant number of arson attacks across England and Wales.
“Deliberately caused fires put the lives of firefighters and members of the public at risk, and use up precious time and resource.
“They also damage or destroy homes, businesses and jobs.
“Despite the government claiming an end to austerity, the truth is that the cuts continue to leave services overstretched and under resourced - Fire and Rescue Services can ill afford to be fighting fires which have been caused deliberately.
“Response times in England are now five per cent slower compared to 2010 and deliberately caused fires further limits firefighters’ ability to respond to emergencies elsewhere.
“Arson attacks are a crime and a matter for the police.
“However, firefighters’ involvement in community and youth engagement schemes provide an essential preventative role ensuring communities understand the humanitarian role of the fire and rescue service.”
Since 2010, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue service has lost a third of its staff - including 207 firefighters.
There were the equivalent of 614 full time employees working for the service as of March 2018, 483 of whom were firefighters - up very slightly from 481 as of March 2017.
In comparison, there were 913 full time staff at Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service in March 2010, including 690 firefighters.