Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Geography & Environmental Studies

Faculty/School

Faculty of Arts

First Advisor

Russell Mucaster

Advisor Role

Thesis Supervisor

Abstract

This thesis is an empirical study of the crime of arson in Toronto from a geographical perspective. Although empirical in nature there is a framework of analysis that hopefully provides a starting point for theoretical development. The study is loosely organized around the framework of four areas of arson research which include: antecedent environmental conditions, organismic variables, actual firesetting behavior, and the consequences of firesetting. To each one of these areas of research geographical analysis is possible. In most cases it was necessary in this study to incorporate the findings from the psychological and sociological literature into the geographical analysis. In this way a more complete, multi-causal understanding of arson was obtained. This framework was then subsequently applied to the specific types of arson. Research is included on rational acts of arson, for example, insurance fraud, as well as on elements of juvenile arson and the range of psychologically motivated arson.

Convocation Year

1983

Convocation Season

Fall

Download

Share

COinS