Patt Morrison for September 28, 2009

Fire in the hands of boys

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The minds behind arson.

Two juveniles have been arrested in two separate arson investigations in the southland; a 16-year-old boy is charged with setting the Yucaipa fire in the Inland Empire and is suspected by law enforcement to be involved in more than a dozen fires in the last three years. The second juvenile, 13 years of age, is under arrest in the Morris fire, which burned across the San Gabriel Mountains in late August. According to the Department of Justice, in 2005, of nearly 1500 arson arrests in California, 52% involved juveniles. What's behind this criminal behavior of the young, and how can it be prevented?

Guests:

Steven Cuevas, KPCC reporter in the Inland Empire

Curt Watkins, evaluation specialist at the Center for Arson Research in Lafayette Hill, PA


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