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You're just spouting for the sake of it. Naked statistics do not tell the true story. Remove the gang/drug/ghetto shootings in the US and I'd wager the chances of a law abiding citizen staying in reasonably "safe" areas is pretty much the same in both countries. Sad to say, but being white probably helps.
The image of America being a very violent country is real. In reality, the violence is mainly concentrated in very specific areas. The proliferation of guns is a significant factor, for sure, but a very large amount of homicides caused by shooting are restricted to particular demographic. Take Baltimore for example, currently top of the homicide charts. 43 murders in May, in a city about the same size of Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Utterly incredible. Look at who shot who, and where, and you will see why those living in the minority of the city that isn't ghetto feel perfectly safe. The rough parts of American cities are rougher than their British counterparts, but decent folk avoid either.
I've lived in London 38 years and have been mugged once, burgled once, and had one car stolen. A lot of burglary going on in my (very middle class) neighbourhood presently, and I'm glad we have an alarm. A drug dealer was shot in the face whilst waiting in his car in the early hours by the green a few weeks ago - drove right across it and down the High St before he passed out. And a teacher in Bradford is currently recovering in hospital after being stabbed by a 14 year old.
America has a problem with too many guns and a minority of police who overstep the mark. The UK has a problem with stabbing in youth gangs, widespread burglary and a ineffectual judiciary.
Agreed, but it doesn't matter which way you dress it up, you are far more likely to get murdered in the US and the amount of people shot to death every year there is shameful really.
Agreed, but it doesn't matter which way you dress it up, you are far more likely to get murdered in the US and the amount of people shot to death every year there is shameful really.
You don't actually read and digest, do you?
I'm saying that if you took the drugs and gang homicides out of the figures then you are probably NOT more likely to get shot to death in America. If you're going to stand on a corner selling crack, then you probably are.
I'm saying that if you took the drugs and gang homicides out of the figures then you are probably NOT more likely to get shot to death in America. If you're going to stand on a corner selling crack, then you probably are.
What about the kids who decide to have a little play with Mummy or Daddys guns.
I'm saying that if you took the drugs and gang homicides out of the figures then you are probably NOT more likely to get shot to death in America. If you're going to stand on a corner selling crack, then you probably are.
Take out the gang homicides and you are STILL far more likely to get shot to death in the US, besides what difference does it make who gets shot? I know that there are some un-pleasant people in this world but nobody deserves a bullet in the head, its not just the actual victims themselves but there is also their family to consider, life really shouldn't be that cheap.
Take out the gang homicides and you are STILL far more likely to get shot to death in the US, besides what difference does it make who gets shot? I know that there are some un-pleasant people in this world but nobody deserves a bullet in the head, its not just the actual victims themselves but there is also their family to consider, life really shouldn't be that cheap.
Shot perhaps, murdered, not so sure.
In the US the African American population accounts for ~13% of the population, and of all homicide victims they account for 50%. It's a staggering statistic, and I'm not going to get into the whys and wherefores, it's just the facts. Also note this is victims not perpetrators.
Ok so there are ~11,200 homicides (including all justifiable homicides from police and citizens, the statistic does not make any allowance for the legality of the homicide) per year across ~320M people.
5,600 of those homicides occur in ~13% of the population
So in fact 5,600 homicides occur in ~278M people (non African Americans).
This makes the annual homicide rate for non-African Americans to be ~2/100,000, while this seems to be double the number in the UK, you also need to consider how the UK reports homicides and compare with the US.
So firstly in the US all suspicious deaths that are not proven to be non-homicides are homicides. For example someone found at the bottom of a flight of stairs would be recorded in the US as a homicide, until it is determined that it was just an accident, if there is not enough evidence to exclude it, then it remains an unresolved homicide. In the UK it is determined to be an accident until enough evidence is collected to show it was not an accident, thus if insufficient evidence exists it's not recorded as a homicide.
Secondly in the UK several murders may be recorded as a single homicide, since the assumption is that any suspicious death is not a homicide until determined it is, then the recorded numbers are based upon identification of a suspect, and charges either leveled or to be leveled against that suspect. This means that if police know there are several murders but the evidence is thin on four of them that is recorded as three homicides. In the US every suspicious death is recorded as a homicide until it's resolved. When you take into account all US homicides, the resolution rate is 67% thus immediately if this were the UK the rate would be 67% of the US rate for no other reason than the mechanisms of recording. Resolution rate is that there is probable cause identifying a suspect or suspects (not that there has been a successful conviction), the murder of Nicole Simpson was resolved, but OJ Simpson was not convicted. The UK has a 91% conviction rate for homicide, thus automatically the resolution rate (as used in the US) must be higher, and given the US and UK use near identical investigation procedures, it's not down to efficiency even just having 9% failure of conviction rate implies that the entire amount is 100% resolved to one or more suspects who appear in court.
So bearing those in mind, we'd need to have 2/3 from the calculated US non-African American rate to compare, 1.33/100,000.
1.33/100,000 is lower than the UK homicide rate has been within the last decade or so (IIRC from 2001 to 2008 it was at or above that level). It's certainly ballpark comparable.
Now many of those are shootings, well so what, if you have roughly the same homicide rate, do you care that the victims are shot, stabbed, run over, beaten to death with a golf club, or gouged to death with a spoon? There are far worse ways to die than shooting.
In the US the African American population accounts for ~13% of the population, and of all homicide victims they account for 50%. It's a staggering statistic, and I'm not going to get into the whys and wherefores, it's just the facts. Also note this is victims not perpetrators.
Ok so there are ~11,200 homicides (including all justifiable homicides from police and citizens, the statistic does not make any allowance for the legality of the homicide) per year across ~320M people.
5,600 of those homicides occur in ~13% of the population
So in fact 5,600 homicides occur in ~278M people (non African Americans).
This makes the annual homicide rate for non-African Americans to be ~2/100,000, while this seems to be double the number in the UK, you also need to consider how the UK reports homicides and compare with the US.
So firstly in the US all suspicious deaths that are not proven to be non-homicides are homicides. For example someone found at the bottom of a flight of stairs would be recorded in the US as a homicide, until it is determined that it was just an accident, if there is not enough evidence to exclude it, then it remains an unresolved homicide. In the UK it is determined to be an accident until enough evidence is collected to show it was not an accident, thus if insufficient evidence exists it's not recorded as a homicide.
Secondly in the UK several murders may be recorded as a single homicide, since the assumption is that any suspicious death is not a homicide until determined it is, then the recorded numbers are based upon identification of a suspect, and charges either leveled or to be leveled against that suspect. This means that if police know there are several murders but the evidence is thin on four of them that is recorded as three homicides. In the US every suspicious death is recorded as a homicide until it's resolved. When you take into account all US homicides, the resolution rate is 67% thus immediately if this were the UK the rate would be 67% of the US rate for no other reason than the mechanisms of recording. Resolution rate is that there is probable cause identifying a suspect or suspects (not that there has been a successful conviction), the murder of Nicole Simpson was resolved, but OJ Simpson was not convicted. The UK has a 91% conviction rate for homicide, thus automatically the resolution rate (as used in the US) must be higher, and given the US and UK use near identical investigation procedures, it's not down to efficiency even just having 9% failure of conviction rate implies that the entire amount is 100% resolved to one or more suspects who appear in court.
So bearing those in mind, we'd need to have 2/3 from the calculated US non-African American rate to compare, 1.33/100,000.
1.33/100,000 is lower than the UK homicide rate has been within the last decade or so (IIRC from 2001 to 2008 it was at or above that level). It's certainly ballpark comparable.
Now many of those are shootings, well so what, if you have roughly the same homicide rate, do you care that the victims are shot, stabbed, run over, beaten to death with a golf club, or gouged to death with a spoon? There are far worse ways to die than shooting.
I'll go ahead and respond on behalf of "easthome": But but but, you know, guns and stuff. Like, there are soo many guns in America, not like in England where the worst crime is to call someone names. I know the statistics show that the UK (not the real country by the way) has a more violent crime rate BUT guns guns guns guns guns guns. I know that the people who have lived in both countries reckon they feel safer, but I know that is utter nonsense, because like, I just know.
I won't bother to read or think about your post. I like to just "shoot" from the opinion hip
This is going to sound wild, but I've seen American expats living in the U.K. writing on expat forums and saying they feel less safe in the U.K.
I know. Unbelievable.
They've written about witnessing more casual violence on the streets . . . more belligerent attitudes in crowds. One woman wrote about seeing a guy backhand his girlfriend in public and said she'd never seen anything like that in the U.S.
Now, if I'd only read an account like this once or twice, I'd take it with a grain of salt . . . but I've read several similar accounts and the person writing it is always surprised because they never expected to feel that way.
This is going to sound wild, but I've seen American expats living in the U.K. writing on expat forums and saying they feel less safe in the U.K.
I know. Unbelievable.
They've written about witnessing more casual violence on the streets . . . more belligerent attitudes in crowds. One woman wrote about seeing a guy backhand his girlfriend in public and said she'd never seen anything like that in the U.S.
Now, if I'd only read an account like this once or twice, I'd take it with a grain of salt . . . but I've read several similar accounts and the person writing it is always surprised because they never expected to feel that way.
Yeah, I can believe the UK is more violent in many ways, just look at all those little pathetic soccer gangs and stuff.
Yeah, I can believe the UK is more violent in many ways, just look at all those little pathetic soccer gangs and stuff.
The 1980,s want that quote back.
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