Devon and Cornwall arsons down 40% in five years

The number of incidents of arson has dropped in four out of the last five years

The number of arson incidents reported in Devon and Cornwall has dropped over the past five years, according to police figures.

A Freedom of Information (FoI) request made by the BBC asked Devon and Cornwall Police to provide information on arson rates for both counties.

The total number of arson incidents reported across the counties fell from 293 to 182 between 2019 and 2024.

Devon and Cornwall Police declined to comment.

The figures showed a drop of 38% over the past five years.

However, the real drop is likely to be higher than 40% because figures for both 2019 and 2024 only cover part of those years.

Cornwall had 92 arson incidents after 1 April 2019, compared to 52 up to the end of October 2024.

In the same period, Devon's arson incidents dropped from 201 to 130.

The figures showed the number of arson incidents dropped for four out of the past five years, with a slight rise between 2021 and 2022 the exception.