The effect of firefighter-delivered fire safety education on young people who misuse fire

Abstract

Youth misuse of fire is a multifaceted, complex and dangerous phenomenon that is difficult to predict and detect. Reduction relies heavily on prevention programs operated by, or in conjunction with, fire services. Youth Justice Conferencing with firefighter involvement is a tertiary prevention program implemented in New South Wales, Australia, by Juvenile Justice New South Wales and Fire and Rescue New South Wales for young people who have committed a fire-related offence. The aim of this project was to evaluate this program to ascertain whether, and if so how, firefighter-delivered fire safety education in the context of conferencing reduced the risk of misuse of fire. The evaluation involved quantitative analysis of 10 years’ worth of conferencing record and recidivism data and qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with program practitioners. Findings revealed that firefighter-delivered fire safety education in the context of conferencing contributed to a reduction in general reoffending whilst providing an avenue through which firefighters could deliver fire safety education to members of the community who were at-risk. These findings have implications for the tertiary prevention of youth misuse of fire.