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That is true. I would feel much safer walking at night in downtown Fargo than downtown Winnipeg.
BTW the latest statistics show we are finally getting control of the auto theft issue. I believe we have dropped to #3 from #1
Well Fargo.... geez.... you want to talk about a ghost town just head to anywhere in ND...
THe thing is I always feel safe in the Peg when I go back, but the media there makes it look like the place has gone amok, cause they have to write about something... not much going on.
the auto theft thing I just never could understand cause it's all joy ridding mostly from bored delinquents. I still to this day never understood how it got out of control and got so popular at one point.
So who's #1 in auto theft in Canada now is it Abottsford BC???
Well Fargo.... geez.... you want to talk about a ghost town just head to anywhere in ND...
THe thing is I always feel safe in the Peg when I go back, but the media there makes it look like the place has gone amok, cause they have to write about something... not much going on.
the auto theft thing I just never could understand cause it's all joy ridding mostly from bored delinquents. I still to this day never understood how it got out of control and got so popular at one point.
So who's #1 in auto theft in Canada now is it Abottsford BC???
Here comes the $**tstorm...
I thought I'd go for an extreme contrast of cities.
I don't remember who beat us out for that particular honour this year, but they are welcome to it. Unfortunately the car theft problem has taken a nasty turn, with some of the little scumbags deliberately smashing into police cars and even trying to run cops down when they are outside their vehicles. I truly believe that if around 100 individuals were arrested and kept locked up, both the card theft and violent crime stats would plummet.
Some places in the US are safer than others, same as in Canada.
There are greater pockets though in the US and comparisons can't really be the same in many factors. How many cities in Canada can generally be compared to the major US cities on crime? Not many cause the cities are bigger...
Felt same walking out late in Toronto or Montreal, sure no problem I did too even back when I asked someone 15 years ago. Would I go strolling around Jane and Finch? don't think so..
I live in DC, love it here, been out late, many places, are there areas I shouldn't be at late at night... absolutely.. so it's all relative.
The other thing is certain types of crimes are more common in certain places. Winnipeg (where I grew up) has a HUGE auto theft problem...
It's all relative...
We are comparing big cities to big cities here, so it is apple to apple.
You feel OK being out late in DC and wouldn't go to Jane/Finch, does that make DC safer than Toronto in general? No. Toronto as a whole city is still a lot safer than DC. It is indisputable.
What does safe mean? It means on average what is the possibility of you being killed or robbed. For an individual, it is either 0% or 100%, but safety is about the general situation. I am saying on average you are much less likely to be killed or robbed in Toronto or Montreal than in Chicago or Philadelphia. Some seem to have trouble accepting this fact and have to argue "depending on neighborhood" "it is all relative" etc. Following this logic, we can't even say Americans enjoy a higher quality of life than Haitians, because it also depends on individuality?
Do not judge Canadian drivers by your experience in Montreal The rest of Canada does not drive like that....ok maybe the rest of Quebec does but not the rest of the country!
Quote:
Originally Posted by valpal89
I am currently visiting my boyfriend in Montreal Canada. As a visitor and outside perspective I have noticed that the drivers seem a little more aggressive in Canada than the US. Also, I noticed that no one ever pulls over when ambulance sirens are heard and an ambulance car is trying to get through the streets.
We are comparing big cities to big cities here, so it is apple to apple.
You feel OK being out late in DC and wouldn't go to Jane/Finch, does that make DC safer than Toronto in general? No. Toronto as a whole city is still a lot safer than DC. It is indisputable.
What does safe mean? It means on average what is the possibility of you being killed or robbed. For an individual, it is either 0% or 100%, but safety is about the general situation. I am saying on average you are much less likely to be killed or robbed in Toronto or Montreal than in Chicago or Philadelphia.
So true. America has horrible crime rates in general, and especially murder rates considering it's a so-called "first-world country". For example:
Toronto: 3.3 for every 100,000 people
Saskatoon: 3.6 for every 100,000 people (highest murder rate in Canada)
Montreal: 2.6 for every 100,000 people
NYC: 6.3 for every 100,000 people (the numbers would be much higher if you counted Brooklyn and the Bronx as seperate cities)
Los Angeles: 9.6 per every 100,000 people
Compton (a suburb of LA): 67.1 per every 100,000
Chicago: 18 for every 100,000
Detroit: 41 for every 100,000
Baltimore: 37 for every 100,000
Washington D.C.: 24 for every 100,000
St. Louis: 47 per 100,000
New Orleans: 60 per 100,000 (police data), or 95 per 100,000 (FBI data)
Compare it to some international cities:
Cape Town, South Africa: 60 per 100,000
Naples, Italy: 10 per 100,000
Sao Paulo, Brazil: 13 per 100,000
Recife, Brazil: 95 per 100,000
Bangkok, Thailand:
Paris, France: 3.7 per 100,000
We are comparing big cities to big cities here....
Apparently only you are. If you'd re-read the OP, the conversation portrayed speaks in aggregates. Nobody is denying that the U.S. has a higher murder rate. But the risk of being a crime victim generally correlates to one's participation in criminal activity. In other words, criminals generally kill other criminals.
The U.S. obviously has more of this. But this activity is generally confined to specific areas that people know to avoid (Undoubtedly Canada has these areas, too). So, to answer your question -- yes, I would feel comfortable with my 20-year-old daughter (were I to have one) walking late in NYC, Chicago, DC or LA, because I trust that she would not be engaging in criminal behavior and would be hanging in the right areas.
I've lived in the U.S. for 38 of my 40 years. I've never been a victim of a violent crime. I had some hubcabs stolen once; that's as bad as it's gotten for me. I don't know anyone who's been a victim of a violent crime. I don't know anyone who's committed a violent crime. I've moved around plenty in my life, and I don't recall a violent crime happening in any of the neighborhoods in which I've lived. I don't own a gun. Some of my friends probably do own guns, but I can't say for sure. I don't know anyone who carries a gun. I could count on one hand the number of times I've seen someone not in police uniform carrying in public.
Is there risk out there? Of course. But I feel no less safe in most areas of the U.S. than I ever did in my two years in Germany, which is statistically "safer" than Canada. But, hey, if it makes you feel better, fine. Canada is a safer country. Don't forget to breath as you puff your chest out.
Apparently only you are. If you'd re-read the OP, the conversation portrayed speaks in aggregates. Nobody is denying that the U.S. has a higher murder rate. But the risk of being a crime victim generally correlates to one's participation in criminal activity. In other words, criminals generally kill other criminals.
Well, if you think only murder and rape are crimes and don't mind the high probability of being mugged etc, that's fine.
It is perhaps comforting to think, "although we have a much higher crime rate, the criminals will always mind their own business and the crimes will never affect me." Humm, something just doesn't sound right here. Then I guess the crime rate in a city is completely irrelevant to the life of a non-criminal and the safety is actually not an issue at all. People are just being stupid asking about whether a city is safe or not before relocating there, unless of course they are criminals themselves.
A majority of the poor people in Canada are struggling recent immigrants trying to make ends meet. They pride every second they have in the country because Canada was kind enough to open their arms to them. They're given immense opportunity to succeed through world class education, health care, and human rights practices. In the US however it's different. Not only are recent immigrants placed in the low income struggling class, oppressed blacks, illegal immigrants and other demographics are too.
What makes this different from Canada is all these lower class individuals have a different mind set. Some are planning to make money illegally, some plan to live off the system through welfare and paystamps, and some plan on getting a decent education and eventually a job. With all these clashes between the lower class citizens, obviously tensions will increase; with the easy access to firearms and ammunition, the rest is history.
As an immigrant myself I find your view of Immigrants in the US offensive. What is the difference between an immigrant looking for a better life in the US and Canada? A quick look a statistics says this:
Foreign Born Median Household Income:
USA: $48,373.00
Canada: $46,323.00
So please tell me how you can come to the conclusion that Immigrants are being excluded in American society while not in Canada. Earnings say otherwise.
Let me ask another question, which is pretty simple, would you feel OK to let your 20 year old daughter (suppose you have one) walk at 2 am in one of those American cities? In downtown Toronto, it happens all the time.
Well I have two sisters in their 20's. One lives in Chicago, the other NYC. Both are out quite late and have never been harmed. I trust that they are intelligent and street smart enough to know where to and not to go. I would expect them to take the same precautions in Toronto, Montreal or any Canadian city.
This is not to compare the US and Canada, because rape crimes are not rated by the same standard in both countries, but you do have to admit that being in the Top 10 is a concern nonetheless. There are many other nations lower down that a women would statistically feel more secure in. So does this make Canada a dangerous place all of a sudden for a women to live? Id personally say no, and if you agree then you would use the same judgement when speaking about crime in America.
Our point all along is that if you are not leading a criminal lifestyle the chances of you being a victim of violent crime is drastically reduced in both the US and Canada. I have personally never been a victim of any crime in the US, but have been in Toronto (long story, but I was shot in the upper thigh at Markham and Lawrence, because I was hanging out with a cousin that led a criminal lifestyle...he was eventually murdered in 2002 along with his brother in Toronto) Does that make me afraid of living in Toronto? Absoultely not, I still view it as one of the safest big cities around.
It shows that if you live a clean and honorable life you will be safe in either the US or Canada, if not you can be a victim anywhere.
Well, if you think only murder and rape are crimes and don't mind the high probability of being mugged etc, that's fine.
It is perhaps comforting to think, "although we have a much higher crime rate, the criminals will always mind their own business and the crimes will never affect me." Humm, something just doesn't sound right here. Then I guess the crime rate in a city is completely irrelevant to the life of a non-criminal and the safety is actually not an issue at all. People are just being stupid asking about whether a city is safe or not before relocating there, unless of course they are criminals themselves.
Never been mugged, and I don't know anyone who has been mugged. Of course safety is an issue and people care about crime. It's just that even within most U.S. cities, the majority of areas are safe (relatively speaking, of course. No area anywhere in the world is without any risk). All I'm saying is that the stats don't tell the whole story, hence the saying that there are lies, damned lies and statistics.
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but not the rest of the country!
