South Pacific Islands

The South Pacific Islands do not get a great deal of attention from the criminological community. Many people in other nations have only a very hazy idea of where the South Pacific Islands are or what they might be like generally, let alone what might be the crime problems in such countries.

South Pacific Islands refers to those nations that own and are served by the University of the South Pacific. They are Cook Islands, Fiji Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. Within this group, there are nations from each of the three broadest divisions of the Pacific based on language, ethnicity, and culture. These groupings are Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia.

All but one of these nations is an independent state. Tokelau is the exception, as it is part of New Zealand. In addition, Cook Islands and Niue are in compacts of free association with New Zealand, and Marshall Islands is in free association with the United States. All of the nations are in various states of postindependence transition (although Tonga and Solomon Islands were never actually colonies). Many customs and institutions remain from the colonial era. For example, most of the statutory criminal law that operates in the region was introduced during the colonial period and remained in force at the time of independence. Another very visible continuing influence of colonial powers, such as the United Kingdom, and postcolonial powers, such as Australia, is through the provision of aid. The region as a whole is highly dependent on foreign aid in a number of sectors, including law enforcement and legal services. The nations have few resources available to them to generate income. Some (e.g., Vanuatu and Fiji Islands) have a tourism industry, others (e.g., Solomon Islands and Vanuatu) export items such as timber or beef, and still others (e.g., Vanuatu and Nauru) are offshore financial centers.

The nations of the region have small populations. These populations are often spread over a large geographical area. It is often the case that one nation will comprise numerous islands or groups of islands, although there are some exceptions—such as Nauru and Niue, which are single (small) islands.

In many nations of the South Pacific Islands, there is a lack of infrastructure and reliable communications. Some remote communities may not have telephones; some islands may be accessible only by boat or canoe; some nations may not have reliable electricity supplies. Many rural communities may have no electricity and communications systems may be extremely limited. These issues obviously have an effect on policing and managing the judicial system.