Bored and with plenty of time on their hands, young people can take their quest for amusement a bit too far. During summer holidays, incidents of arson and deliberate fire-setting by young people go up, endangering lives and contributing to a climate of fear and anger in their local communities.
Richard Gorst is youth engagement and partnership delivery manager at Cheshire Fire Service. "About 70 per cent of our work is arson-related and 90 per cent is committed by young people aged 12 to 15," he says.
In the borough of Dacorum, which includes the districts of Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted and Tring, the situation reached a critical high, with more than six deliberate fires set every day during the school holidays last year. To curb antisocial behaviour, Dacorum's Community Safety Partnership - which includes the fire service, the police and the council's antisocial behaviour team - launched the One Strike and You're Out campaign with a message that arson offenders may face a hefty fine and, in many cases, a custodial sentence.
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