Fiji recorded a total of 37,215 offenders of crime from 2023 to July 2025.
Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu told the Pacific Regional Tripartite Conference in Nadi yesterday that of this figure 11,270 offenders were unemployed.
He said police were conducting a thorough analysis of the crimes and the “why” factor to be able to refocus on community policing awareness.
“So that leaves more than 25,000 offenders who had some form of employment as per the information gathered through investigation,” Mr Tudravu said.
“Our further analysis of these figures shows most common offences committed by unemployed persons include property-related crimes such as theft, burglary and crimes against a person, such as assault, with social financial issues a trigger to the committal of such offences.
“This is an overview of the crimes committed by unemployed persons.
“So answering the question of how job and security can contribute to crime and social unrest, I will draw from the findings of our investigations, community policing work via profiling, and talanoa sessions held with members of our communities.
“It seems to show that economic security is often the trigger for all of these.”
