Scotland the most violent country.

[hardheadjarhead]

Now this is interesting...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1786945,00.html


Its safer here than there, according to this...and New Zealand has the most sexual assaults. I'm not sure I buy into the data, but it is provocative. It'll be interesting to see if other studies confirm these findings.


Regards,


Steve

 

[theletch1]

Not sure if I buy the data either. Maybe if the study had been based on actual numbers from law enforcement and not just on anectodal evidence from folks that had already been victims it would be a little more believeable. Of course it does specify that the figures are for the "developed" world. I can just about guarantee that Scotland is not as dangerous as, say, Rwanda.

 

[Gemini]

Not sure if I buy the data either. Maybe if the study had been based on actual numbers from law enforcement and not just on anectodal evidence from folks that had already been victims it would be a little more believeable. Of course it does specify that the figures are for the "developed" world. I can just about guarantee that Scotland is not as dangerous as, say, Rwanda.

That's a very good point. I can think of several places I'd rather not be than Scotland. I don't think Nessy's the baddest dude on the block, so to speak.

 

[Rich Parsons]

Yes in cases like this I would like to see the data source.

In Ireland, the sell lots of baseball bats. You know the sport played here in North America and now in Japan. Well they do not play it in Ireland, but they make great Weapons . No mention of Ireland was made only Northen Ireland, so it seems to me it really depends upon the polling source and the honesty of those who report the assaults.

Here in the USA, many if not all of the colleges report their crimes separate from the city they are associated with. This means that people can use the numbers from either source depending upon what looks better.

As to New Zealand, I would have to say given their smaller population, and percentages involved, adn their over honesty, I think maybe they just reported more sexual assaults than other countries. Just my opinion on that note.

 

[hardheadjarhead]

I think the Scots are somewhat irritated by this. I don't doubt the report will lead to studies that clarify the issue.

In reporting violence rates and contrasting them between countries one has to be careful. One has to be careful to note where crime reporting procedures are different from one country (or jurisdiction) to the next. One country might have a different definition for sexual assault than another. What one country counts as murder another might report as a homicide (pending a final determination of murder).

But I don't doubt that eating haggis and washing it down with scotch, wearing a skirt and listening to the skirling of bagpipes will rouse the beast in any man. Maybe there's truth to the report.



Regards,


Steve

 

[arnisador]

One word explains it all: Soccer.

 

[mantis]

One word explains it all: Soccer.

LOL yeah
but if this is the only reason Britain would have been the most violent...
i wonder if the left the city of Inglewood, or east los angeles out when they did their study! hehe
what about countries under attack?
i'd think Iraq, afghanistan, and israel/palestine are the most dangerous and violent places!

 

[sgtmac_46]

Anecdotal evidence of crime is not the best source of information for actual crime...Of course, neither is law enforcement reporting. Keep in mind, Law Enforcement reports only indicate crime that is reported to the police. Most crimes go unreported. Simple assault, for instance, is an underreported crime. Therefore, you have to start with reported crime statistics and fill in the gap with anecdotal reports of crime.

In many cultures and societies, people do not, as a rule, report everyday occurances such as simple assault and minor theft. These are considered simple facts of life.

I have no doubt that this study is accurate. Places like Scotland, with a history of alcohol abuse and a working class society, are generally violent socieites. Comparing the US to Scotland would be inaccurate. For one thing, the society is Scotland is much more homogenized than the US, which has a vast cross-section of cultures and cultural influences.

It would be a better comparison to compare Scotland to a Rust Belt US region in amount and type of violence.

 

[Simon Curran]

One word explains it all: Soccer.

That is, of course, a good point, but I can guarantee that football hooliganism isn't only a Scottish problem, elsewhere in the UK it is equally wide spread.
I think SGTMac's assesment would be more accurate, I grew up in one of England's more socially deprived areas, and acts of violence, of varying degrees, were commonplace to the point that most simply was never reported, just accepted as a fact of life.