Norwich Police Arrest 8-Year-Old Girl On Arson Charge

Fire setting is an indication of victimization. There is more going on here than "playing with matches"-

Seriously, who hasn't burnt their childhood home down....

This is sick! She is a young child of 8 years old. If there are underlying problems get her help. Don't arrest her this will mess her up forever.

What? How the hell does a 8yr old get arrested for arson. Where were her parents? They are the ones that should be arrrested! An 8 year old is not mature enough to even understand the implications of being arrested let alone understand what she did was going to cause the devastation. Get real society!!!!!

This is a child!!! She should be treated as a child!!! Not arrested.
If she was my child she would be taught a lesson and I would demand that the police who arrested her are fired and if a judge signed the arrest warrent I would demand that he be disbarred from serving.

8 years old - who hasn't played with matches when they were little - and we didn't get caught each time - arrested - that is crazy - parents - even the bet of us - do not see everything every time -

An eight-year-old is not capable of truly understanding the consequences of their actions.
This child shouldn't be arrested. But, the parents should be questioned as to where they were, and why the child had access to what was used to start the fire.

Border Guard wrote:

This is a child!!! She should be treated as a child!!! Not arrested.
If she was my child she would be taught a lesson and I would demand that the police who arrested her are fired and if a judge signed the arrest warrent I would demand that he be disbarred from serving.

Do you hear yourself??? At what point did you think this was a good idea to post???

of course, no one is permitted to give her a...GASP!....spanking

When I was about this girls age, I was curious about fire myself, and I ACCIDENTLY set my bed on fire which in turn resulted in setting my room, and the hallway of my house at the time on fire. Kids are curious, they see their parents doing something with fire, and they want to try it themselves. Arresting an 8 year old girl for a crime like this is not the answer. She is probably scared to death, and she knows from the minute that it happened that she did something wrong. If anything she should be educated on fire safety, but not criminalized.

Diesel wrote:

When I was about this girls age, I was curious about fire myself, and I ACCIDENTLY set my bed on fire which in turn resulted in setting my room, and the hallway of my house at the time on fire. Kids are curious, they see their parents doing something with fire, and they want to try it themselves. Arresting an 8 year old girl for a crime like this is not the answer. She is probably scared to death, and she knows from the minute that it happened that she did something wrong. If anything she should be educated on fire safety, but not criminalized.

Ummmm, this goes beyond the scope of lighting a bed on fire.

ctcitizen wrote:

<quoted text>
Ummmm, this goes beyond the scope of lighting a bed on fire.

well, the fire went beyond the scope, but it's FIRE that happens! She's still just a little girl that was curious and didn't know the real consequences.

A trip to the fire department for a safety class seems much more appropriate.

Firesetting is often a huge warning sign for kids who are being or have been abused. I'm not a detective and leave that job to them however, I would think we need more details before makeing assumtions. It could have been a mistake or intentional..kids do dumb things sometimes and unfortunately for alot of folks, that continues into adulthood. Case by case basis folks...