Insight for Sunday 14 February 2010

Three quarters of deliberately lit fires in New Zealand are caused by young people, with official figures showing that of all serious offences committed by children and adolescents, arson is the most common.

Some of the behaviour is put down to a child's natural curiosity about fire, or simply being mischievous.

But emerging research suggests that arson attacks by young people can indicate a link to other, more serious offending.

Sue Ingram investigates

Photo: Young people are often fascinated by fire