ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines how complex forest fire prosecution is and how it requires thoughtful solutions to be ameliorated. A single forest fire can create vast destruction and by classifying it either as arson, fire investigator can make any statistical profile change considerably. Despite the maxim that criminal law should be used as an 'ultima ratio legis', it would seem as though the Spanish criminal courts have lost sight of another maxim – to prevent harm. In Spain, there are no alternative quantitative and statistical studies other than the ones coming from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture. Even if Spanish police statistics were systematic, forest arson incidents have traditionally shown a dark figure of unreported offenses in all countries around the world. Demographic trends show that the rural sector of Spanish society is aging, due to a combination of improvements to healthcare, falling birth rates and the outmigration of younger people and families to bigger cities.
