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The thing to keep in mind is that America isn't as homogeneous as a European country, it's as diverse as the entire European continent. Would you say that Denma

by Juz16 11y ago

The thing to keep in mind is that America isn't as homogeneous as a European country, it's as diverse as the entire European continent. Would you say that Denmark is a dreadful mess because of the crime rate in Serbia? Probably not.

bilbo0s 11y ago
To be fair to branchless... Chicago's crime rate is not all that high. It certainly would not make a list of the top 50 crime cities in the US. Or even the top 100. (http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/neighborhoods/crime-rates/top100dangerous/ http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/neighborhoods/crime-rates/t...) So, I'm thinking, branchless' thought process probably goes something like this... "If Chicago is this bad with crime and corruption... what must the rest of the US be like???" Having mentioned that, other people are correct as well to point out that not ALL places will have the same level of corruption. Many, many places have far more corruption and crime than Chicago. And many, many places have far less corruption and crime than Chicago. But if you are from Western Europe, the mean level of corruption here in the US may be discomfiting to you.
- sbjustin 11y ago
  30th in murder rate though: http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/top-lists/highest-murder-rate-cities/ http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/top-lists/highest-murder-ra...
  - Pinckney 11y ago
    Murder rate is probably the only statistic that can be trusted. Police are under lots of pressure to make sure crime stats go down, and it's really easy to misclassify or ignore reports for things like armed robbery or rape. A body is harder to hide.
    - jrs235 11y ago
      And crimes committed by police probably won't show up either...
    - thaumasiotes 11y ago
      Heck, I think the title of this one speaks for itself: http://www.vox.com/2014/6/29/5850100/chicago-brought-its-murder-rate-down-by-not-counting-murders http://www.vox.com/2014/6/29/5850100/chicago-brought-its-mur... But why stop at the title? > they find evidence that while Chicago reported 414 murders in 2013 they really had at least 432 through what, if you read the article (and you should) looks like pretty deliberate malfeasance. > For example, Patrick Walker was found injured and unresponsive in a crashed automobile, taken to a hospital where he died, then during an autopsy they found a gunshot wound in his head and a bullet casing in the back seat of the car. Owing to the fact that he was clearly shot and killed, this was filed on his death certificate as a murder. But the Chicago Police Department has classified the case as a death investigation, making it disappear from their stats.
  - bilbo0s 11y ago
    That's not Chicago, IL in that list though right? It's Chicago HEIGHTS, IL. Different city. And EAST Chicago, IN. Different STATE. You have to be careful when you read these lists. For instance, there are a lot of Pine Bluffs in the United States, so you want to be sure that you talk about the right one when discussing murder rates. But even if you only count the murder rate... Chicago... the Chicago that we're discussing on this thread... would not make the list of the top 30 as is plainly evident. there are far, far worse places than Chicago in the US. Lots of them. And there are far, far better places than Chicago in the US. Lots of them.
izzydata 11y ago
Almost every city is drastically different in America.
minusSeven 11y ago
Same is even more true about India, yet it doesn't stop many people from calling it rape capital of the world.
- galtwho 11y ago
  this is inspite of it having extremely low rape incidences as a %. People have no clue how large and diverse the place is and are always generalizing. and I have very rarely come across police misbehaving the way I read here or even come across violent street crimes. I am sure it occurs though as the films love portraying the extreme scenarios but the ordinary person isn't scared for his/her life or safety.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
tingol 11y ago
Even including the "safe" parts of the US in the equation the murders per capita rate is three times higher than Serbia. If you count police shootings the numbers get so crazy compared to any other first world country it is pretty safe to say there is a problem.
- oh_sigh 11y ago
  Not at all. For example New Hampshire has a murder rate much lower than Serbia, England, or France. It is more on lines with Germany. Also, everyone collects murder states differently. The US usually publishes states from the FBI, whose logic is basically "there is a dead body and it looks like someone else did it". The UK, on the other hand, has the Home Office publish murder rates in terms of convictions, which necessarily will be less than the number of bodies.
- tamana 11y ago
  Didn't Serbia have a massive civil war just few years ago?

by Juz16 11y ago

bilbo0s 11y ago

To be fair to branchless... Chicago's crime rate is not all that high. It certainly would not make a list of the top 50 crime cities in the US. Or even the top 100. (http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/neighborhoods/crime-rates/top100dangerous/ http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/neighborhoods/crime-rates/t...) So, I'm thinking, branchless' thought process probably goes something like this... "If Chicago is this bad with crime and corruption... what must the rest of the US be like???" Having mentioned that, other people are correct as well to point out that not ALL places will have the same level of corruption. Many, many places have far more corruption and crime than Chicago. And many, many places have far less corruption and crime than Chicago. But if you are from Western Europe, the mean level of corruption here in the US may be discomfiting to you.

sbjustin 11y ago
30th in murder rate though: http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/top-lists/highest-murder-rate-cities/ http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/top-lists/highest-murder-ra...
- Pinckney 11y ago
  Murder rate is probably the only statistic that can be trusted. Police are under lots of pressure to make sure crime stats go down, and it's really easy to misclassify or ignore reports for things like armed robbery or rape. A body is harder to hide.
  - jrs235 11y ago
    And crimes committed by police probably won't show up either...
  - thaumasiotes 11y ago
    Heck, I think the title of this one speaks for itself: http://www.vox.com/2014/6/29/5850100/chicago-brought-its-murder-rate-down-by-not-counting-murders http://www.vox.com/2014/6/29/5850100/chicago-brought-its-mur... But why stop at the title? > they find evidence that while Chicago reported 414 murders in 2013 they really had at least 432 through what, if you read the article (and you should) looks like pretty deliberate malfeasance. > For example, Patrick Walker was found injured and unresponsive in a crashed automobile, taken to a hospital where he died, then during an autopsy they found a gunshot wound in his head and a bullet casing in the back seat of the car. Owing to the fact that he was clearly shot and killed, this was filed on his death certificate as a murder. But the Chicago Police Department has classified the case as a death investigation, making it disappear from their stats.
- bilbo0s 11y ago
  That's not Chicago, IL in that list though right? It's Chicago HEIGHTS, IL. Different city. And EAST Chicago, IN. Different STATE. You have to be careful when you read these lists. For instance, there are a lot of Pine Bluffs in the United States, so you want to be sure that you talk about the right one when discussing murder rates. But even if you only count the murder rate... Chicago... the Chicago that we're discussing on this thread... would not make the list of the top 30 as is plainly evident. there are far, far worse places than Chicago in the US. Lots of them. And there are far, far better places than Chicago in the US. Lots of them.

izzydata 11y ago

Almost every city is drastically different in America.

minusSeven 11y ago

Same is even more true about India, yet it doesn't stop many people from calling it rape capital of the world.

galtwho 11y ago
this is inspite of it having extremely low rape incidences as a %. People have no clue how large and diverse the place is and are always generalizing. and I have very rarely come across police misbehaving the way I read here or even come across violent street crimes. I am sure it occurs though as the films love portraying the extreme scenarios but the ordinary person isn't scared for his/her life or safety.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

tingol 11y ago

Even including the "safe" parts of the US in the equation the murders per capita rate is three times higher than Serbia. If you count police shootings the numbers get so crazy compared to any other first world country it is pretty safe to say there is a problem.

oh_sigh 11y ago
Not at all. For example New Hampshire has a murder rate much lower than Serbia, England, or France. It is more on lines with Germany. Also, everyone collects murder states differently. The US usually publishes states from the FBI, whose logic is basically "there is a dead body and it looks like someone else did it". The UK, on the other hand, has the Home Office publish murder rates in terms of convictions, which necessarily will be less than the number of bodies.
tamana 11y ago
Didn't Serbia have a massive civil war just few years ago?