"Peek into mind of a serial arsonist"
http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_20144489/peek-into-mind-serial-arsonist
" There is no profile for a serial arsonist," the detective said, adding that serial arsonists come from both sexes and all races and social backgrounds. "But there are some traits that show up."
"It's a crime of frustration and power," he said. "They're small people in a big world, and this is the only way they can have power."
Investigators generally subdivide serial arsonists into two groups: organized and disorganized, Nordskog explained. The organized type uses complex devices and intricate planning to elude capture. The disorganized type are just that - behaving erratically and impulsively.
One common feature shared among most serial arsonists is mental illness, Nordskog said. Often times, investigators find, they have been institutionalized in the past and have problems with abuse of either prescription or illicit drugs. They are likely to be highly intelligent, though underperformers at work and school, and have no violent criminal history, though convictions for crimes such as burglary, theft or low-level sex crimes are common.
Physically, serial arsonists often display some type of physical disability or defect, such as skin problems or birth defects, as well as severe childhood trauma or traumatic brain injury, the detective said.
Serial arsonists are likely to be passive and nonconfrontational by nature, as well as neat and fastidious. Many are effeminate males or masculine females and have gender identification issues, Nordskog said
