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Comparing crime statistics is not that simple. Each country classifies crimes differently. For example Canada classifies ALL assaults as violent crime in the U.S. only aggravated assaults are classified as violent.
So saying that violent crimes in Canada are higher is misleading.
As for property crimes, maybe someone here with a better understanding of Canadian laws can pipe in, but from I can see in the US, Robbery is NOT considered a property crime. This perhaps could be the reason for the " surprising " stat that Canada has a higher property crime rate IF we do consider robbery a property crime...but I so far can't find anything on that.
"Property crime is a category of crime in which the person who commits the crime seeks to do damage to or derive an unlawful benefit or interest from another’s property without using force or threat of force. Property crimes are often high-volume crimes. Property crime includes burglary, theft, arson, larceny, shoplifting, and vandalism. Robbery is not included as a property crime since it involves use of force or threat of force, and therefore classified as a violent crime. Property crime is also termed as crime against property."
I would also like to add that crime rates or statistics like crime per capita are very misleading when they are used to compare countries with huge differences in population (e.g. Canada's 34 million vs. USA's 313 million).
The fact is that all things being equal, a linear progression in crime rates by population is a myth. For example, the following crime rates are not the same: country with population of 100 has 1 crime per year vs. a country with population 1000 has 10 crimes per year.
Keeping all the characteristics the same, if you increased Canada's population 10 fold (to 340 million), it's crime would increase more than 10 fold. Crime is not linear .... closer to an exponential function!
That said, addressing the question in the OP: Crime in the US vs Canada ..... the meaning of "crime" and the "fear of crime" is very different in Canada vs. US. 99.9% of the people in Canada do not fear being shot while walking down the street or while sitting in a movie theatre. In the US, this is a very real fear and a rather common occurrence.
Last edited by sandman249; 08-21-2013 at 01:07 PM..
Keeping all the characteristics the same, if you increased Canada's population 10 fold (to 340 million), it's crime would increase more than 10 fold. Crime is not linear .... closer to an exponential function!
Wrong. They measure crime rates per capita. In 1962, Canadians reported 221 violent crimes per 100,000 people. This figure doubled by 1970 to 480, increased to 636 in 1980 and finally peaked at 1,084 in 1992 -a 500% increase in 30 years. Since this time violence crime has fallen (even though the population has gone up) - though it is still much higher than it was in the 1960s.
Wrong. They measure crime rates per capita. In 1962, Canadians reported 221 violent crimes per 100,000 people. This figure doubled by 1970 to 480, increased to 636 in 1980 and finally peaked at 1,084 in 1992 -a 500% increase in 30 years. Since this time violence crime has fallen (even though the population has gone up) - though it is still much higher than it was in the 1960s.
How am I wrong?
I was talking about a model where everything (external factors) stays the same and the population increases. Obviously such a model does not exist in real life. The increase or decrease in the crime rates in Canada from 1960 to 2013 could have been due to a lot of factors. Are you saying that nothing except the population of Canada changed from 1960 to 2013.
I've never been to Canada( closest I've gotten is New Sweden Maine about 15-20 mins south where my husband grew up) but he talked about not hearing about crime as much on Canadian tv as he does here. We had another school shooting in the US today and just a few weeks ago in our local news they talked about where you could purchase bullet proof panels for your child's back pack. Do Canadians worry about such things as much as Americans would? I admit I'm legitimately concerned for the day I send my daughter to school. Is the crime in Canada similarly violent to the US but just not spoken of as much or do u think this is am American ( comparing only the two countries not the world) problems?
I can't speak for anyone else, but I certainly don't worry.
Greater Montreal has a population of close to 4 million. We've had 17 homicides here this year so far.
No American city of comparable size can say the same.
That said, addressing the question in the OP: Crime in the US vs Canada ..... the meaning of "crime" and the "fear of crime" is very different in Canada vs. US. 99.9% of the people in Canada do not fear being shot while walking down the street or while sitting in a movie theatre. In the US, this is a very real fear and a rather common occurrence.
lol what
I always go for walks at night with no fear what so ever, the movie theater in my city has never had one shooting...
I always go for walks at night with no fear what so ever, the movie theater in my city has never had one shooting...
I was using the movie theatre as an example. I am sure you get the point.
So, by your logic, if the movie theatre in my city has had a shooting/ killing then my fear is justified?
I am simply trying to say that the perception of crime is very different in the two countries. Let me give you an example closer to your home (you are from Minnesota I am guessing?) .... on a very recent trip to Minneapolis–Saint Paul I was told by more than one person to not be in the Mall of America area after 8-9pm. And what do you know ... there was shooting the day I was there. Saw it on the news. Now I am not saying that this happens all the time. But the fear and perception lingers ....
I was using the movie theatre as an example. I am sure you get the point.
So, by your logic, if the movie theatre in my city has had a shooting/ killing then my fear is justified?
idk your city so i'm not going to start making false accusations like your other post
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