Investigation of Intentional Homicides in Fiji from 2010 to 2017: A Mixed Method Study

There has been an increase of global total number of the intentional homicide victims from 2015 to 2017 by 4 % or approximately 19,000 victims despite the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals in September 2015. In Fiji, homicides remain a cause of premature deaths that are associated with high costs impacting the society and the nation significantly. This research study aims to analyze and understand the baseline statistics of trends of intentional homicide recorded in Fiji and the police perceptions factors associated with intentional homicides in Fiji. Basically, the outcome of this study would potentially be utilized as precedence to provide the Fiji criminal justice system with a critical review of intention homicides and recommendations, to develop evidence-based interventions for intentional homicides in Fiji. This mixed-method study used the retrospective records analysis of 141 decedents who were homicidal fatalities from January 1st 2010 to December 31st 2017 and other decedents were excluded accordingly. The prospective qualitative component included in-depth face-to-face consented interviews of Senior Fiji Police Officers. Thematic network analysis (Attride-Stirling’s method) was used to analyze the qualitative data. The Fiji National University College Health Research and Ethical Committee (CHREC) and the Ministry of Health Fiji National Health Research Ethics and Review Committee (FNHRERC) granted the ethical approval for this study. The results from this research showed 92 males (65.24 %) and the highest average homicide rates were seen in the Fijians of Other Descent (3.26 per 100,000 population), followed by the Fijians of Indian Descent (2.57 per 100,000 population). The age interval of 20 years to 29 years showed the highest incidence (31.19 %) intentional homicides in Fiji and the Southern and Western Fiji Police Divisions showed the highest average homicide rates of 2.23 per 100,000 population and 2.01 per 100,000 population respectively. It was more common to see intentional homicides in the urban areas (66.67 %) with
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the majority of the decedents (73.04 %) were noted to immediately succumbing post-injury and furthermore, the commonest mechanism of death was haemorrhagic shock (40.42 %). Blunt force trauma (58.86 %) was the main type of trauma and the commonest anatomical regions affected was the head alone (36.17 %). Non-domestic homicide was identified in more than half the decedents (53.90 %) and 34.04 % of the reasons for committing homicide was due to conviction/ hate followed by jealousy (26.95 %). Three major themes with regards to intentional homicides were generated and included: intentional homicide contributing factors (family disputes, disputes over money and properties, drugs and liquor-related, low self-esteem, poverty, ethnic and cultural influences, and social media abuse), factors related to policing of intentional homicides (public awareness issues, proper police investigation, training of police criminal death investigators and drawbacks of policing in Fiji) and Fiji medico-legal death investigation system factors (coronial set-up, proper Fiji medico-legal death investigation system and forensic expert separation from the Fiji Police Force). In conclusion, intentional homicide rates in Fiji are comparably lower to those global rates and with the incorporation of the associated factors/ variables, these are similar to that of the in low and middle-income countries. Senior Fiji Police Officers raised the need to redefine the Fiji Medico-legal Death Investigation system inclusive of the upgrading of intentional homicide policing in Fiji, the separation of the Fiji Forensic Science Service to be an independent death investigative arm of the judiciary and the establishment of a coronial set-up to manage unnatural death investigation.
Keywords: Intentional homicide, Domestic homicide, Non-domestic homicide, Mixed-method study, Fiji.