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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia: Mr. Speaker, arson is indeed a very serious problem, costing over $1 billion in property damage annually and endangering the lives of citizens and especially our firefighters. Arson has also one of the lowest arrest and conviction rates, and law enforcement needs new tools to enhance their capabilities to solve arson crimes.
Unfortunately, the evidence presented in committee was that the State of California already has a registry similar to the one contemplated in the bill and no arsons have been solved by that database.
Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, I would need to point out another concern I have with H.R. 1759 in its current form. That concern relates to the treatment of juveniles under the proposed bill. Juveniles who are charged and convicted as adults for arson offenses would be required to register in the newly created arson offender registry. As research clearly indicates, of all offenders, juveniles are the least culpable due to immature brain development, and they have the greatest capacity for rehabilitation. Branding them as an offender in a State or national register is not only improper, it's counterproductive.
Requiring young offenders to register in a State or national offender database counters the concept of ensuring the proper development of juveniles because it is inconsistent with rehabilitative efforts. Although H.R. 1759 properly ensures that only law enforcement will have access to information on the registries, law enforcement officers will undoubtedly use the information to label and target youth for further arrests. Once law enforcement has certain youngsters on their radar, those youngsters would be targets and more likely to be arrested and prosecuted for even minor nonviolent conduct because law enforcement officials have their names on a list.
In summary, I agree that law enforcement needs effective tools to combat the devastation of arson causes, and I want to thank the gentlewoman from California for her hard work in developing the bill and making many improvements in the bill from its original form. However, I still have concerns about the cost effectiveness of the proposal in the bill as well as concerns, the impact the legislation will have on juvenile offenders.
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