4 ms·

Murder rates are always concentrated in certain areas, including all those other countries you're comparing to. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder-rates-na

Murder rates are always concentrated in certain areas, including all those other countries you're comparing to. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder-rates-nationally-and-state#MRord http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder-rates-nationally-and-... And if you're trying to argue urban areas are more dangerous, you're wrong. http://science.time.com/2013/07/23/in-town-versus-country-it-turns-out-that-cities-are-the-safest-places-to-live/ http://science.time.com/2013/07/23/in-town-versus-country-it... Remember, murder rates are per capita.

adventured 10y ago
Of course urban areas are radically more dangerous when it comes to murder. The murder rates in US cities are drastically higher per capita than in rural and suburban areas, that isn't even remotely up for discussion, it's a fact that stretches back to the beginning of US data on murder. I'm not sure why you emphasize that murder rates are per capita, that proves the point you're trying to deny. The per capita murder rates in cities are far higher. The very high city per capita murder rates in the US are the reason the US murder rate is so high.
- vacri 10y ago
  The point being made is that you're cutting out the bad parts in the US in order to make the comparison, but not cutting out the bad parts in the comparitor. Rural murder rate in the US is less than combined rural + urban murder rate elsewhere? Quelle surprise. Similarly, by cutting out the urban parts of the US in your comparison, you're cutting out 70% of the US population.
  - ptaipale 10y ago
    However, I don't think you need to cut out 70 % of the US population out to make a difference. More like 1-2 %? Take out some areas of St. Louis, Detroit, Chicago and a few other places, and the numbers look very different. Of course other countries also have their bad places, but I think the U.S. is much more split to good and bad areas than most developed nations.
    - afterburner 10y ago
      Take a look at this state-by-state breakdown of the murder rates in the US: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder-rates-nationally-and-state#MRord http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder-rates-nationally-and-... Every single state is above the UK's murder rate of 0.9.
      - ptaipale 10y ago
        But differences between states are quite significant. New Hampshire is at 0.9 some years. Louisiana is 10-15 times that. Still, I understand the divide is more between urban core/suburban+rural that between different states.
        afterburner 10y ago
        Well, given that state breakdown, I think the right conclusion is that there are simply more murders in the US than other developed countries across the board, no matter how you slice it.
        ptaipale 10y ago
        Well, I somewhat disagree about that. State-level slicing is a reasonable approach because then the units of comparison are typically more similar in size. And there are several U.S. states (New Hampshíre, Hawaii, Vermont, Maine) that have a lower homicide rate than Belgium, Lichtenstein, Taiwan or Estonia. (Yes, comparing rather marginal differences.) However, Venezuela is on a completely different level. Moreover, murder rates in the US are heading downwards; they are half of 1980's numbers. Venezuela is radically up, almost ten times of 1980's numbers.
        afterburner 10y ago
        Imagine you broke down Belgium, etc the same way the US is broken down by state. You'd get even lower murder rates in many areas of Belgium, that would make the safest areas of the US look dangerous by comparison. Face it, the US done fucked up.
- afterburner 10y ago
  Take a look at this state-by-state breakdown of the murder rates in the US: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder-rates-nationally-and-state#MRord http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder-rates-nationally-and-... Every single state is above the UK's murder rate of 0.9.

adventured 10y ago

Of course urban areas are radically more dangerous when it comes to murder. The murder rates in US cities are drastically higher per capita than in rural and suburban areas, that isn't even remotely up for discussion, it's a fact that stretches back to the beginning of US data on murder. I'm not sure why you emphasize that murder rates are per capita, that proves the point you're trying to deny. The per capita murder rates in cities are far higher. The very high city per capita murder rates in the US are the reason the US murder rate is so high.

vacri 10y ago
The point being made is that you're cutting out the bad parts in the US in order to make the comparison, but not cutting out the bad parts in the comparitor. Rural murder rate in the US is less than combined rural + urban murder rate elsewhere? Quelle surprise. Similarly, by cutting out the urban parts of the US in your comparison, you're cutting out 70% of the US population.
- ptaipale 10y ago
  However, I don't think you need to cut out 70 % of the US population out to make a difference. More like 1-2 %? Take out some areas of St. Louis, Detroit, Chicago and a few other places, and the numbers look very different. Of course other countries also have their bad places, but I think the U.S. is much more split to good and bad areas than most developed nations.
  - afterburner 10y ago
    Take a look at this state-by-state breakdown of the murder rates in the US: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder-rates-nationally-and-state#MRord http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder-rates-nationally-and-... Every single state is above the UK's murder rate of 0.9.
    - ptaipale 10y ago
      But differences between states are quite significant. New Hampshire is at 0.9 some years. Louisiana is 10-15 times that. Still, I understand the divide is more between urban core/suburban+rural that between different states.
      - afterburner 10y ago
        Well, given that state breakdown, I think the right conclusion is that there are simply more murders in the US than other developed countries across the board, no matter how you slice it.
        ptaipale 10y ago
        Well, I somewhat disagree about that. State-level slicing is a reasonable approach because then the units of comparison are typically more similar in size. And there are several U.S. states (New Hampshíre, Hawaii, Vermont, Maine) that have a lower homicide rate than Belgium, Lichtenstein, Taiwan or Estonia. (Yes, comparing rather marginal differences.) However, Venezuela is on a completely different level. Moreover, murder rates in the US are heading downwards; they are half of 1980's numbers. Venezuela is radically up, almost ten times of 1980's numbers.
        afterburner 10y ago
        Imagine you broke down Belgium, etc the same way the US is broken down by state. You'd get even lower murder rates in many areas of Belgium, that would make the safest areas of the US look dangerous by comparison. Face it, the US done fucked up.
afterburner 10y ago
Take a look at this state-by-state breakdown of the murder rates in the US: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder-rates-nationally-and-state#MRord http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder-rates-nationally-and-... Every single state is above the UK's murder rate of 0.9.