Did you know. . .
. . . that arson has been described as the fastest-growing crime in America?
. . . that arson is the most expensive crime committed?
. . . that over 8 billion dollars was estimated lost due to fires in 1994?
. . . that an estimated 86,000 structure fires of incendiary or suspicious origin were reported in 1994?
David Redsicker provides these statistics and much more, including practical methods, information, and advice for investigating these types of crimes, in Practical Fire and Arson Investigation, Second Edition.
Extensively rewritten second edition of this practical manual - More than 40% new material!
Practical Fire and Arson Investigation, Second Edition is a significantly revised, updated, and expanded new edition of this best-selling book in the Practical Aspects of Criminal and Forensic Investigations series, edited by Vernon Geberth. As in the first edition, specific details on the basic principles are presented, and advanced applied techniques for conducting a thorough fire and arson investigation are detailed.
New topics covered in the Second Edition include:
o Extensively rewritten chapters on determining origin and cause, eliminating accidental fire causes, investigating fatal fires and vehicular fires, and documenting the fire/crime scene
o Fire scene photography using "painting with light"
o Importance of evidence preservation and analysis in civil litigation of liability and product defects

Additional Editors Include Eugene H. Byrne, Marshall W. Baldwin, William M. Agar, T. Lawrason Riggs, And Ross J. S. Hoffman.

Additional Editors Include Eugene H. Byrne, Marshall W. Baldwin, William M. Agar, T. Lawrason Riggs, And Ross J. S. Hoffman.

In May 2003, US Navy Seabees held a somber ceremony at a British military cemetery in Al Kut, Iraq where they turned over 420 graves to the British government. The graves contained the remains of World War I British and Indian soldiers who died while fighting the Ottoman Turks at Al Kut during the British Mesopotamian Campaign. The British War Graves Commission had maintained the cemetery for decades until 1991, when Great Britain joined the US in Operation DESERT STORM. In retaliation for that participation, Saddam Hussein's Baath regime desecrated the cemetery and turned it into a city dump. After US Marines liberated Al Kut during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM in March 2003, US Navy Seabees cleaned and restored the cemetery and returned it to the British Army.1 The cemetery is a poignant reminder of a largely forgotten campaign from World War I. This paper will recount the story of this World War I campaign and summarize the key events that led to the costly British defeat at Al Kut.