“Statistics don’t lie…but liars use statistics” as the old saying goes. More proof: The newly published Total Crimes Per Capita by Country.
The USA is #8, Canada is #12. Interestingly, a notorious hotbed of crime such as Thailand ranks 47th, a little better than Greece at #45. Mexico ranks 39th!!! What a joke! Herein of course lies the danger of statistics, especially for those untrained in scientific methods; they carry the weight of legitimacy without any reference to how they were collected and by whom.
I’ve been in a car in Greece with a drunk driver. We were stopped at a breathalyzer checkpoint. It turned out that the driver knew the cop’s cousin…so he let us go. I got mugged in New York City a few years ago (on Broadway after a show in view of hundreds of people). I went to the beat-cop on the corner afterward and told him what had happened. He looked at me very sincerely and said, “I’m very sorry to hear that sir…have a nice evening” and walked away. In many countries, crimes simply go unreported, often because the criminals are the police, e.g. a close friend got stopped by a cop in Mexico City for a minor traffic violation. He was asked to settle the “fine” on the spot to the tune of $250 cash. In many countries, forcible sex isn’t rape, its the male’s prerogative. And in Thailand, where the sexual exploitation of children is a national pastime and major tourist draw, I wonder how those statistics are captured? In India, where sectarian violence is a daily occurrence, are the deaths and injuries reported as crimes or “political” events. And how do these numbers account for more vs. less serious crimes. If all the crimes in Dominica (#1) are robberies, but all the crimes in Yemen (#60) are murders…where would you want to live? But you get my drift.
BTW, the NationMaster.com site is absolutely incredible…a huge clearing house of international statistics on every imaginable topic…just make sure to use the data wisely and with the appropriate caveats and provisos!