European Violent Crime Rates Twice as High as USA !

[LakeSuperior]

A well written paper titled "Crime in Europe and the US: Dissecting the “Reversal of Misfortunes” documents and analyzes crime rates in Europe compared to the USA. In essence, crime has continued to increase in Europe whereas crime in the USA has leveled off and has been decreasing since 1990.

The authors investigate 5 variables; demographics (fewer young males), immigration, abortion, unemployment, and incarceration.

The European authors conclude that a tougher incarceration policy would help turn the tide in Europe.

Link to paper: http://www2.dse.unibo.it/zanella/papers/crime-EP.pdf

I believe this information is appropriate for CF because it is relevant to assessing risk when cruising in Europe. Additionally, it seems like the USA is frequently sterotyped in CF as being a more violent country by posters from Europe, Australian, and New Zealand. We are also viewed negatively for having a large incarcerated population.

Even though we have a lower rate of violence crime than Europe we are better at it as the homicide rate in the USA is still higher.

Cheers!

[DeepFrz]

Statistics, damn lies and statistics...

[goboatingnow]

you would want to take this stuff with a pinch of salt,

Generally falling crime , with a rise in burglary , which is often associated with a recession.


heres figures directly from Eurostat the official records



and summarised




Europes Homicide Rate



And interesting its not related ( most of the time to whose locked up).

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

...here's figures directly from Eurostat the official records...

➥ http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cac...-12-006-EN.PDF

[muskoka]

Assault has vastly different definitions in different countries so I'd be pretty leery of making sweeping statements about safety. Hell, in Sweden you can be charged with "assault" for having a condom break during consensual sex.....

[anjou]

Yet America has the highest amount of prison inmates in the world. That is in part due to the war on drugs, the privitisation of prisons and the gang culture that has pervaded prisons, making prison time better for many as they have fraternity and 3 meals a day.

In Britain, the prison population figure stands at @ 80,000, with an overall annual release figure of @ 65,000
That means a rather high turn around with shorter sentances, yet many are repeat offenders.

The members of the 'religion of peace' are the single largest contingent of prisoners, and whilst government figers suggest they make up 4.5% of the countries popiulation, they account for 26% of prison numbers, .....and rising rapidly due to more crime, conversion to islam

Prison no longer seems to be a punishment or deterent to these particular group of immigrants as its seen as a badge of honor and as they love to be victim martyrs, it gives them a sense belonging to a cause

Of greater current interest to Americans is gun related crime. It is far higher in unarmed countries and communities.
Since the hand gun ban, and general tightening of gun ownership in the UK, UNLICENCED gun crime has soared and illegal hand guns have come to the uk from the eastern bloc immigrants who smuggle them in in large quantities as a deposit on an appartment in the promised land.

The future looks interesting.

[anjou]

Some interesting numbers in here

Boom: The UK Banned Handguns... Handgun Crime DOUBLED

Gun and Baseball Bat Control in Great Britain

5 Gun Facts: What Obama Doesn't Want You To Know

More deaths from claw hammer beatings than guns in the US - official FBI proof FBI Stats: More Murders With Hammers and Clubs Than Rifles

[conachair]

Originally Posted by LakeSuperior

I believe this information is appropriate for CF because it is relevant to assessing risk when cruising in Europe.

It's actually close to meaningless for assessing risk when cruising. If you want to do that then ask the people who are cruising. They know the few areas to avoid or take care in. Those figures tell you nothing.

[LakeSuperior]

Originally Posted by conachair

It's actually close to meaningless for assessing risk when cruising. If you want to do that then ask the people who are cruising. They know the few areas to avoid or take care in. Those figures tell you nothing.

Actually a cruisers experience will tend to be binary. Either they experienced a problem or did not (if one doesn't want to rely on second hand information.)

One would have to talk to a million cruisers from each location/country to get a fair estimate of the true risk.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by LakeSuperior

Actually a cruisers experience will tend to be binary. Either they experienced a problem or did not (if one doesn't want to rely on second hand information.)
One would have to talk to a million cruisers from each location/country to get a fair estimate of the true risk.

In Europe it's not too difficult to locate any problem areas for cruisers simply because there are so few. Some marinas are well known for petty theft, large cities in general or a bit risky.

Your link gives no info useful for cruisers and could be easily be judged as scaremongering.

[LakeSuperior]

Originally Posted by conachair

Your link gives no info useful for cruisers.

I would suggest that for many including myself that the above is a statement of opinion rather than fact. I personally like to gather all the information I can when traveling.

[sailorboy1]

I'm not sure if we are saying we are good crimnals or whether we need to try harder?

But I don't see this as a boating issue. For boaters we only care about the crimes against other boaters, not what the "locals" do to each other.

[SVNeko]

Originally Posted by muskoka

Assault has vastly different definitions in different countries so I'd be pretty leery of making sweeping statements about safety.

The report speaks to violent crime, not assault.

[boatman61]

I hear violent crime in Australia nearly increased last year...

[muskoka]

Originally Posted by anjou

Some interesting numbers in here

Boom: The UK Banned Handguns... Handgun Crime DOUBLED

Gun and Baseball Bat Control in Great Britain

5 Gun Facts: What Obama Doesn't Want You To Know

Links 1 & 3 from the "Capitalism Institute" whoever they are. Link 2 from "Political Outcast" appear likewise, ummh, deranged. I'd like to say that I'd take their opinions with a grain of salt, but that's an outright lie on my part.

Originally Posted by anjou

More deaths from claw hammer beatings than guns in the US - official FBI proof FBI Stats: More Murders With Hammers and Clubs Than Rifles

Ummh, look a little deeper. According to the FBI, US murders for the years 2005-2009 averaged 14,566 per year. Firearms murders accounted for an average of 9,837 for each of those years. Which means that firearm murders accounted for 67.5% of all murders.

Expanded Homicide Data Table 8 - Crime in the United States 2009

I don't know where this "Capitialism Institute" get's its agenda, but stating that "Blunt Objects" killed more people than rifles is disingenuous. Such an oddly defined comparison makes it sound like hammers are more of a menace than guns.

It's also, strictly speaking unverifiable, as the category "Blunt Objects" includes "Clubs, Hammers, etc." so we don't really know about the true extent of the danger which hammers pose to society.

The Capitalism Institute really need to break down the "Blunt Objects" category so that we know if the annual tally of 617 victims in that category were dispatched with a Estwing framing hammer, sledgehammer, finishing hammer, jackhammer or club. Or "etc." which I hear can be quite deadly. Only then will we have a true picture of how lethal hammers really are.