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I'm sure the weather will play a part in it ( though Brittany , in France, which has pretty much exactly the same climate as the UK does not have that problem) as there isn't the same culture of living outside so to speak and staying indoors is more depressing.
Also a lot of it will be a breakdown in family ( families are still much closer in Southern Europe) and kids are left to roam on their own without supervision. Alcohol is an easy , instant friend and makes you look cool to your mates.
Some of it is due possibly to being more socially "reserved" ( ie not showing your emotions as much) which in turns to internalising things and alcohol then becomes a crutch and a solution as it stops inhibitions and encourages a more aggressive behaviour which can then be excused by "I only did it because I was drunk!" ( which as been used successfully many times here as a means of legal defense).
Some of it is social conditioning, the idea that alcohol = fun and being drunk = cool.
When all around you are doing it, praising it and making it sound like a great activity it is probably quite difficult as a kid to go against it.
Some of it is due to the fact that people are unable to communicate to each other any more and don't know what to do in a social situation. Let's face it most people don't have to think at the week-ends about what to do , as the obvious choice is easy and open to them.
Unfortunately it has now reached such proportions as to be a real social issue, anti-social behaviour has increased, kids are now starting to show signs of liver damage at an early age and adults are drinking themselves into oblivion. And let's not forget women who get raped whilst so drunk as to be unconscious and those who get pregnant too because they were too drunk to take precautions. Unwanted pregnancies are at an all time high here and alcohol is cited as the primary cause. Then there is the vandalism, fighting in the streets and 2/3rd of hospital admissions at the week-end which are drink related.
A real mess and I can't say I would know what to do about it as a government as it is so widespread. It needs a complete societal change of attitudes and I'm not sure how you accomplish that...
I have to work on my social life, others just go to the pub...
Brilliant analysis!Amazing!
How do you know all that ?
If you count S Africa as developed country, wich is often done, then Johannesburg or Jo´Burg as they call it there is the most violent city not being in war!
They have the world´s busiest police helicopter and last time i checked 8000/9000 murders a year. Don´t talk about rapes, you don´t wanna know that. Durban probably comes second and Capetown third, then the rest is located in the US, except if you calculate S America, but Brazil is not the developed world. so if you don´t count s/Africa, all violent cities are located in the US by far. New Orleans, Detroit, New Ark, Washinton D.C, the mudercapital ofcourse.
THE most violent city changed from year to year, but i think D.C and New Orleans are competing for a while probably.
In europe it would be cities in Italy, like Naples or on Sicily and last time i checked Stockholm in Sweden, several major Dutch cities and British cities are quite violent. Paris maybe not so, but they have the worst area´s by far in Europe.Violence that exceed even many places in US cities.
Russian cities are very dangerous, but do we count it as the developed world or second world...
San Francisco is not the most violent city in the US, though it's not the least either. In 2007 it was in the middle for violent crime in cities over 250k, right above Newark and St. Paul, and right below Wichita. It had the 4th highest violent crime rate on the west coast in 2007, after Oakland, Stockton, and Sacramento, which are all in the same region as SF, Oakland being right next door. As far as murder rate, it was the 2nd highest on the west coast, after Oakland, and nation wide it was 23rd highest. Also, due to the small size of the city, crime is very concentrated (for example Baltimore averaged 2.8 murders per square mile in 2008, whereas SF averaged 2.1 murders per square mile. LA on the other hand had 0.8 murders per square mile, and London had 0.2). Compared to cities in other developed countries I'm sure the level of violence would be pretty high, especially in terms of gun violence, maybe with the exception of some Russian cities (the amount of hate crimes going on in some Russian cities lately is pretty disturbing).
Here's part of an SFPD report on an incident that happened last month:
Quote:
"As Officer Scott closed in on the driver, he suddenly turned, pointing a machine pistol, equipped with an extended magazine, at the officers. From less than ten yards away, Officer Scott clearly saw the weapon and announced the danger. Without immediate cover, Officer Scott drew his pistol and fired two rounds at the suspect, striking the ground in front of the suspect. The suspect ran, discarding the machine pistol over a nearby fence.
The suspects continued running from the officers and shed their jackets, to alter their appearance. Unfortunately, the suspects were lost in the area. Officer Scott recovered the machine pistol, and Officers Kirchner and Lyons returned to the abandoned vehicle, where they found an assault rifle, equipped with a scope and loaded 40 round magazine. This was the object that the passenger was attempting to retrieve. The Ceasefire Team and Gang Task Force, in coordination, later captured the suspects."
And here's an article about a drive-by that happened last month, that killed one and injured 5, none of them the intended target: www.sfexaminer.com >> Crime
Here's something that might surprise some people too...violent crime rates per 100k residents for the USA's 15 largest cities in 1993, during a time when crime was having a spike throughout the country. SF had the 6th highest violent crime rate back then for the largest cities:
Baltimore - 2,994.0
Chicago - 2,717.4
Detroit - 2,663.5
Los Angeles - 2,374.3
New York City - 2,089.8
San Francisco - 1,815.0
Dallas - 1,743.3
Jacksonville - 1,698.2
Memphis - 1,633.8
Houston - 1,453.8
Philadelphia - 1,255.2
San Diego - 1,160.0
Phoenix - 1,146.0
Columbus - 1,104.6
San Antonio - 682.4
It's interesting comparing those cities' violent crime rates to now (2007 numbers):
Detroit - 2,289
Memphis - 1,951
Baltimore - 1,631
Philadelphia - 1,475
Houston - 1,132
Dallas - 1,069
Jacksonville - 1,022
San Francisco - 874
Columbus - 852
Phoenix - 724
Los Angeles - 718
New York City - 614
San Antonio - 556
San Diego - 502
Chicago - N/A
I think this is just a joke answer....but what is the crime in Sydney compareable?
I wouldn't say it's a joke - Sydney. Or any other city in Australia for that matter. We have a lot of physical assaults on people here, anywhere, anytime. Mainly due to the fact that much of the population drinks far too much and we do not have a justice system, we have a legal system.
Drunken violence is part of the culture here. So much a part of it, it is excused when it gets to the courts. Steal money, they throw the book at you. Take a life while you're drunk, walk out free.
We may not have many shootings but we certainly make up for it in other ways.
In some countries, there are clear no-go areas. In ours, anyplace where there are people who drink a lot, is where you watch yourself. Even a wine-and-food festival we have here near Perth requires increased cop presence because of the amount of drunken fights. It's ridiculous.
Johannesburg, Nairobi, Moscow and St Petersburg, Bogota.
sorry if i'm the 500th person to point this out, but johannesburg isn't in a developed country, i've yet to hear anyone call south africa a developed country.
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