Even if "patients" die, their friends and brothers don't, and the violence spreads. When looking at trends, murder rate is a better metric than counting violen

Even if "patients" die, their friends and brothers don't, and the violence spreads. When looking at trends, murder rate is a better metric than counting violent crimes, because statistics for other violence are quite easily impacted by changes in policies of how to record reports. A dead person is a dead person, it's a very consistent metric. Of course, it is also a changing metric as emergency care improves - wounds that used to be deadly can now be treated. For instance, Swedish cities are reporting a vastly improved care for shooting wounds, as hospitals have gained experience and developed methods in treating them.