New Arson Investigator Position at Sheriff’s Office Leads to More Arson Arrests

Buncombe County -- Buncombe County Sheriff's Office August 24, 2021

New Arson Investigator Position at Sheriff’s Office Leads to More Arson Arrests

On November 1, 2020 Detective William Small took on the new role of Arson Investigator in the Criminal Investigations Division of the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office. As a result, in a little less than a year, the number of Arson arrests increased to 33 percent of cases compared to just 7 percent in the year prior to Detective Small’s assignment.
The increased capacity this position provides, investment in technology, a strengthened partnership with the Fire Marshal’s Office, and the dedication of Detective Small has made a difference in arrest rates.
From November 1, 2019 to November 1, 2020 the Sheriff’s Office conducted 20 Arson investigations. Five of those investigations were determined to be “unfounded” meaning the fire was either accidental or unintentional. Of the remaining 15 cases, 12 were closed by “leads exhausted,” one was closed with the victim refusing to cooperate, one remains an open investigation, and just one led to an arrest. Since November 1 of last year, there have been 16 Arson investigations at the Sheriff’s Office with four cases being “unfounded”, 7 closed as “leads exhausted”, one case remains an active investigation, and four arrests. The four arrests out of 12 cases of confirmed arsons equals a 33% arrest rate which is above the national average for Arson investigations and a stark contrast to the prior year.
“Detective Small’s passion for what he does is the driving force behind the success that we’re seeing. Having a Detective dedicated solely to Arson investigations has made a big difference from a capacity and expertise standpoint,” says his supervisor, Sgt. Christopher Stockton.
Detective Small is a former volunteer firefighter and has earned his North Carolina Fire Investigator Technician certification from the State Office of the Fire Marshal. He is an 11-year veteran of law enforcement.
Detective Small’s background and expertise have helped streamline the partnership between the Sheriff's Office and Buncombe County Fire Marshal’s Office, which has the jurisdiction to investigate fires in the county. Detective Small now responds to any suspicious fire in conjunction with their office instead of waiting to be notified that the fire was determined to be an Arson. Previously, that 24 to 48 hours were valuable lost time. This more efficient response plan allows Detective Small to immediately begin conducting field interviews and request any criminal search warrants as needed.
Since starting in this position the Sheriff’s Office has also made investments in technology to aid Arson investigations. One example is a $5,400 camera that takes thousands of burst photos at a time and allows a full and complete view of the fire scene to be viewed once the photos are downloaded into the Matterport software program.
“The camera captures everything and allows us to go back and study the scene in detail from our computer or TV monitors,” says Detective Small.
“Thank you to Detective Small for his dedication and excellent work. We will continue to invest in technology at the Sheriff’s Office as a means to solve crime. This new position and new camera and software system is an investment in keeping our community safe,” says Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller.