Over 95% of UK arsonists evade charges as more than two thirds go unidentified entirely

The shocking data, collected from UK police forces through Freedom of Information requests, also shows that around seven in ten investigations are shelved without the offender even being identified.

Low charge rates show difficulty in bringing arsonists to justice

Legal Expert received data from 36 UK police forces, with the forces saying that they recorded a collective 65,053 arson offences between January 2022 and December 2024. The data suggested that arson incidents went down 20% over the three-year period.

21 forces confirmed arrest figures, as Legal Expert found that 16% of cases led to an arrest. However, just 4.83% resulted in the offender facing an arson charge.

Wiltshire Police, which had the ‘best’ charge rate in the UK, only converted 10.5% of its 381 cases into charges issued to offenders. In stark contrast, Essex Police said that they investigated 3,212 arson attacks but just two charges were dished out.

Cases were handicapped by different factors including evidential difficulties, victims not supporting action or, in some cases, the offenders having died or become too ill to prosecute.

But crime outcomes shared by 12 forces showed that 69% of investigations were tagged ‘Investigation complete - no suspect identified’. Close to 16,000 cases were marked this way by the 12 services, meaning over 5,300 arson investigations per year were closed because the attacker escaped without being identified.

In South Yorkshire, four out of every five arson cases were resolved without the offender being spotted, leaving over 2,500 cases without so much as a named suspect.

UK’s cities hit hard by arson

Generally speaking, the largest police forces dealt with the most cases. There were some exceptions, such as Lincolnshire, where its force had more arson reports in three years (1,371) than it had officers (1,205, as of September last year).

Met Police recorded 6,411 arson attacks across Greater London. Greenwich was the borough plagued most by arson, with its West Thamesmead ward the most common source of attacks out of any ward in the city region.

Direct comparisons are difficult as police forces choose to break down figures by town, local authority area or policing district. Between its North, South and Centre policing areas, Manchester was afflicted by arson 1,133 times. The figures were similar for Sheffield (1,131) and Bradford (1,169) and even worse in the Leeds district region (1,407).

West Midlands Police had the second-highest number of cases (4,089) and divided its results by ward, finding that Birmingham’s Sparkbrook, Washwood Heath and Lozells & East Handsworth neighbourhoods were the leading locations of arson attacks.

Belfast (898 attacks in the city region) and Bristol (844) also felt the heat. The latter accounted for around half of the Avon & Somerset region’s total arson cases in an especially violent 2023.

Staggering number of young and male offenders

In a deeply concerning trend, young people and children as young as four were monitored as arson suspects by UK police forces.

30 forces showed Legal Expert a breakdown of suspects by age and gender. The data revealed that 34% of offenders are in the youngest age brackets, which in most cases meant they were under 18 years old.

Northumbria Police tracked 296 suspects around Newcastle, Sunderland and the rest of the region that were between 11 and 15 years old. Meanwhile, in southeast Wales, Gwent found that three out of every five offenders was a minor.

Numerous police forces had no choice but to drop prosecutions because an arsonist had not yet reached ten years old, the legal age of criminal responsibility.

The fact that 80% of arson suspects were men is also worrying, but less surprising when government figures indicate that men are six times more likely to be arrested than women.

Legal Expert also asked forces to confirm how many ‘repeat offenders’ had appeared in their records, with 23 forces saying that 1,319 people suspected of arson had been under suspicion more than once since 2020. Surrey Police said that they had eyes on one 11-time offender operating in the region.

Arson victims mostly disappointed in search for compensation

Legal Expert found that 464 arson victims sought a payment through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), a government-supported agency, between 2022 and 2024. However, only 76 received a payment.

Those successful received a total of £102,260, working out at £1,345.53 per claim on average. Just £2,400 has been paid out so far for the 79 claims launched in 2024.

Less than 60% of claims have been resolved, leaving 194 people waiting to learn their fate.

Legal Expert criminal injury specialist Ellie Lamey said: "It's incredible that so few people have made a claim when thousands and thousands of arson offences have affected lives around the country. With charge rates also being low, victims might be wondering how to get some form of justice.

"Victims who have sustained injuries, whether physical or psychological, due to violent crimes like arson have the right to seek compensation, and they don't have to wait for someone to be charged or convicted of the offence to do so.

"As long as the crime is reported to the police and they cooperate with an investigation, victims can explore their chances of compensation through the CICA.

"We've helped many people who didn't realise just how much they could receive by claiming with the support of an expert."

Legal Expert is a 24/7 service which provides detailed guidance on criminal injury compensation claims, including CICA applications.

Through free consultations offered online and over the phone, it connects claimants with experienced criminal law experts.