Church Arson Prevention Act

In early 1996, federal officials detected a pattern of increasing arson attacks on churches, particularly on African American churches in the southern portion of the country. In May of that year, a hearing before the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives brought together members of the legislature, law enforcement, and victim congregations. After reviewing testimony and supporting evidence, President William J. Clinton called for the formation of the National Church Arson Task Force (NCATF). In July, just six weeks after the committee hearing, a bill to give the NCATF greater powers passed quickly and unanimously through Congress and was signed into law by President Clinton as the Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996.

Previously, federal officials referred to either the Anti-Arson Act of 1982 to prosecute anyone who set fire to property used in interstate commerce (18 U.S.C. 844(i)) or civil rights legislation to prosecute anyone who conspired to deny a person's civil rights or who desecrated religious property (18 U.S.C. 241 and 247). The new law amended section 247 of Title 18 and granted federal prosecutors greater power. It allowed them to file charges in racially motivated arsons without having to demonstrate that resulting damage totaled $10,000 or more or that the incident involved interstate commerce. In addition, it enabled prosecutors to seek sentences of up to 20 years imprisonment for arson or 40 years if the arson resulted in bodily injury to any person, including public safety officials (Pub. L. No. 104-155).

The legislation called for a three-pronged approach to combating the problem. The first was to help communities rebuild or repair damaged churches. To aid in rebuilding efforts, the Department of Housing and Urban Development was given the administration of a $10 million Federal Loan Guarantee Fund and assigned to work with groups such as the Congress of National Black Churches, the National Council of Churches, and Habitat for Humanity. Second, the law sought to effect prevention of church burnings. To do so, the Department of Justice awarded $3 million in grants to counties that had been affected by the arsons in an effort to intensify enforcement and surveillance. In addition, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded about $1.5 million for training for arson prevention and established a clearinghouse for arson prevention resources.

Third, the law was meant to facilitate the identification, arrest, and prosecution of church arsonists. [Page 580]The NCATF was created to make the arsons a priority of federal law enforcement and was given the charge of working with local authorities in investigating arsons, bombings, or attempted bombings at houses of worship. It was made up of prosecutors from the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorneys' Offices, conciliators from the Community Relations Service, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and other state and federal officials.

Upon its inception, the NCATF developed a protocol to ensure that all lines of inquiry were pursued and to ensure effective coordination among task force members. Agents from the BATF brought their knowledge of arson and bombing investigations, and the FBI brought its experience in civil rights investigations. Cross-training was conducted between the two agencies and among other members of the task force. It also developed a database to track and analyze cases and ongoing investigations, established a toll-free tip line, and—with the assistance of FEMA—distributed copies of a church threat assessment guide to congregations. It began its operations by opening up 429 investigations into arsons that had occurred between January 1, 1995 and May 27, 1997.

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