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A RETROSPECTIVE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HOMICIDE DEATHS IN KOSOVO FROM 2006-2015 By Sophie VAN WYNGAARDEN A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Forensic Science (Professional Practice) in The School of Veterinary and Life Sciences Murdoch University Supervisors: Associate Professor James Speers (Murdoch) Professor Flamur Blakaj (Institute of Forensic Medicine – Pristina, Kosovo) Semester 2, 2018 i Declaration I declare that this thesis does not contain any material submitted previously for the award of any other degree or diploma at any university or other tertiary institution. Furthermore, to the best of my knowledge, it does not contain any material previously published or written by another individual, except where due reference has been made in the text. Finally, I declare that all reported experimentations performed in this research were carried out by myself, except that any contribution by others, with whom I have worked is explicitly acknowledged. Dated: 16.11.2018 Signed: Sophie van Wyngaarden ii Acknowledgements I would like to sincerely thank Associate Professor James Speers from Murdoch University for his guidance, mentorship and the confidence he instilled in me throughout the writing of this thesis. Thank you for introducing me to the wonderful world of coffee and report writing internationally. This research would not have been possible without the assistance of Professor Flamur Blakaj of the Institute of Forensic Medicine (IFM). I would like to thank every employee at the IFM for their kindness, generosity and companionship whilst I lived in Kosovo. I would like to specially mention Venera Sokoli and her family, it was a pleasure and a privilege to meet you all. Lastly I’d like to acknowledge my mother Jacqueline for her unconditional love, support and guidance, not only during the writing of this thesis, but always. ii i Table of Contents Title Page ............................................................................................................................... I Declaration ........................................................................................................................... Ii Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................... iii Part One Literature Review ................................................................................................... 1-56 Part Two Manuscript ........................................................................................................... 58-84 iv THIS PAGE HAS BEEN LEFT INTENTIONALLY BLANK v PART ONE LITERATURE REVIEW A RETROSPECTIVE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HOMICIDE DEATHS IN KOSOVO FROM 2006-2015 1 ABSTRACT Homicide comparison between countries is generally difficult, unless the method for documenting homicides is standard between the countries of comparison. A scant number of reputable retrospective homicide studies have been published and of the studies that are available, there is no standardisation. Homicide data for the country of Kosovo has been documented by the Institute of Forensic Medicine (IFM) in Pristina. The homicides registered by the IFM from 2006-2015 in Kosovo were retrospectively studied and significantly this revealed that in 73.76% of all homicides committed, firearms were the weapon used. Limited specific firearm data is readily available for the country of Kosovo, further follow up studies and better recording of evidence are required to ascertain for certain why firearms are so widely used in homicides. Although a general downward trend since 2006 in the number of homicides per 100,000 population was identified, presently there is no enforced standard method for the reporting of all deaths in Kosovo, including homicides. Therefore, this study aims firstly to publish Kosovar retrospective homicide data for the use as a prevention and reduction tool and additionally to critically review global estimations of homicide rates and the available international retrospective homicide literature, to more accurately identify and establish a standardised method for the reporting of homicides. Fundamentally the findings of this study will be utilised to provide the IFM in Kosovo with a critical review of the approaches regarding the documentation of homicides and recommendations, to further their practice in the recording and analysis of homicides in Kosovo. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 2 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... 5 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 6 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................................. 7 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 8-11 2 DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................... 11-42 2.1 Intentional Homicide Rate of Kosovo ................................................................. 11-12 2.2 Kosovo Homicide Data Sourced from the IFM.................................................... 12-18 2.2.1 The Number of Homicides in Kosovo from 2006-2015 ............................... 12-14 2.2.2 The Number of Homicides by Region in Kosovo ......................................... 14-15 2.2.3 Demographical Homicide Information from Kosovo .................................. 15-16 2.2.4 Wounds Inflicted During Homicides in Kosovo ........................................... 16-17 2.2.5 Mechanism of Death in Kosovo ........................................................................ 18 2.3 Firearms in Kosovo .............................................................................................. 19-20 2.4 Laws of Kosovo .................................................................................................... 20-22 2.4.1 Legislation on Weapons in Kosovo .............................................................. 20-21 2.4.2 Legislation Regarding Homicides in Kosovo ................................................ 21-22 2.5 Estimations of Global Homicide Deaths.............................................................. 22-26 2.51 A Global Trend of Young Male Homicide Victims ........................................ 24-25 3 2.52 Homicide Mechanism Internationally .......................................................... 25-26 2.6 Classification of Homicides in Australia and the United Kingdom...................... 27-28 2.6.1 Australia ............................................................................................................ 27 2.6.2 United Kingdom ................................................................................................ 28 2.7 Retrospective Homicide Studies ......................................................................... 28-42 2.7.1 Homicide Figures and Population Size ........................................................ 27-29 2.7.2 Victim Gender and Age ................................................................................ 29-30 2.7.3 Perpetrator Homicide Data ......................................................................... 30-32 2.7.4 Mechanism of Death ................................................................................... 32-35 2.7.5 Cause of Death ............................................................................................ 35-36 2.7.6 Influence of Drugs and Alcohol ................................................................... 36-37 2.7.7 Seasonality and Temporal Trends ............................................................... 37-38 2.7.8 Location ....................................................................................................... 38-39 2.8 Comparing Homicide Data from Different Retrospective Years .................... 39-40 3 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................... 42-46 4 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE IFM IN KOSOVO ................................................. 46-48 5 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................... 49-56 4 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Adapted from World Bank the Kosovo intentional homicide rates (per 100,000 people) from 2008-201511………………………………………………………………………………………………12 Figure 2: The IFM records of the frequency (per 100,000 population) of homicides per year from 2006-2015..……………………………………………………………………………….……………………14 Figure 3: As sourced from the IFM database, the frequency of homicides in each of the following seven specific districts of Kosovo: Ferizaj, Gjakova, Gjilan, Mitrovica, Peja, Pristina and Prizren………….…………………………………………………………………………………………….15 Figure 4: Mechanism of death for the homicides occurring in Kosovo from 2006-2015, taken from data collected at the IFM in Pristina, Kosovo…..………………………….………………..18 Figure 5: A 2000-2012 estimation of homicide rates by a countries income status19………24 Figure 6: Homicide by mechanism and WHO region in 201216…………….…………………..……. 26 5 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: The number of homicides in Kosovo recorded by the IFM per year from 2006- 2015, in relation to the population data each year from the World Bank13……………..…..…13 Table 2: The victim