Challenges in the analysis of forensic pathology data relating to homicides in Kosovo from 2006-2015

The ability to conduct accurate retrospective homicide comparative research is reliant on the publishing of robust studies that assess the specifics of homicides in a standardised manner. To address these matters at the Institute of Forensic Medicine (IFM) in Pristina, Kosovo, the IFM homicide data of the years 2006-2015 was retrospectively studied. In general, there was a year on year downward trend in the number of homicide deaths in Kosovo per 100,000 people, however it was noted that a standardisation method to record homicides in Kosovo has not been developed and as such, the data may not be complete. In addition, the analysis of the IFM data demonstrated that firearms were consistently used in 73.76 % of all homicides committed between 2006-2015 but the examination of, and the specific documentation of the types of firearms used was not recorded. This is important to provide evidence to enforce legislation to reduce the availability of these weapons and ultimately the number of homicides. Consequently, this study aimed to compare global homicide trends relative to the retrospective homicide data from Kosovo, to inform and address the need for prevention programmes and to establish standardised recording of homicides in Kosovo.