2015-08-04

Homicide Rates of Western Countries

This is a response to an specious posting on a Federalist article on a mass shooting in Mississippi.
https://disqus.com/home/discussion/thefederalist23/surprise_another_mass_shooting_in_a_gun_free_zone/?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_content=additional_comments

"Pardon me, Mr. savannachimp, but I can't let that stand. You are shamelessly blowing total Hot Air up our skirts here and it's embarrassing. We're not all gullible fools here, you know.
You said: "Every other Western country has people with the same mental issues. We don't have the same level of slaughter, and it's not because we're locking everybody up."
But the facts don't bear out that conclusion at all:
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A much nice, neater table with pretty little flags is on view at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... (which you'll find easier to see), but:
Country Rate Count Region Subregion Year Listed
Anguilla (UK) 7.5 1 Americas Caribbean 2012 
Antigua and Barbuda 11.2 10 Americas Caribbean 2012 
Aruba (Netherlands) 3.9 4 Americas Caribbean 2010 
Bahamas 29.8 111 Americas Caribbean 2012 
Barbados 7.4 21 Americas Caribbean 2012 
British Virgin Islands (UK) 8.4 2 Americas Caribbean 2006 
Cayman Islands (UK) 14.7 8 Americas Caribbean 2009 
Cuba 4.2 477 Americas Caribbean 2012 
Dominica 21.1 15 Americas Caribbean 2010 
Dominican Republic 22.1 2,268 Americas Caribbean 2012 
Grenada 13.3 14 Americas Caribbean 2012 
Guadeloupe (France) 7.9 36 Americas Caribbean 2009 
Haiti 10.2 1,033 Americas Caribbean 2012 
Jamaica 39.3 1,087 Americas Caribbean 2012 
Martinique (France) 2.7 11 Americas Caribbean 2009 
Montserrat (UK) 20.4 1 Americas Caribbean 2008 
Puerto Rico (US) 26.5 978 Americas Caribbean 2012 
Saint Kitts and Nevis 33.6 18 Americas Caribbean 2012 
Saint Lucia 21.6 39 Americas Caribbean 2012 
St Vincent & Grenadines 25.6 28 Americas Caribbean 2012 
Trinidad and Tobago 28.3 379 Americas Caribbean 2012 
Turks and Caicos Islands (UK) 6.6 2 Americas Caribbean 2009 
United States Virgin Islands (US) 52.6 56 Americas Caribbean 2010 
Belize 44.7 145 Americas Central America 2012 
Costa Rica 8.5 407 Americas Central America 2012 
El Salvador 41.2 2,594 Americas Central America 2012 
Guatemala 39.9 6,025 Americas Central America 2012 
Honduras 90.4 7,172 Americas Central America 2012 
Mexico 21.5 26,037 Americas Central America 2012 See notes below.
Nicaragua 11.3 675 Americas Central America 2012 
Panama 17.2 654 Americas Central America 2012 
Bermuda (UK) 7.7 5 Americas Northern America 2012 
Canada 1.6 543 Americas Northern America 2012 
Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France) 16.5 1 Americas Northern America 2009 
United States 4.7 14,827 Americas Northern America 2012 
Argentina 5.5 2,237 Americas South America 2010 
Bolivia 12.1 1,270 Americas South America 2012 
Brazil 25.2 50,108 Americas South America 2012 
Chile 3.1 550 Americas South America 2012 
Colombia 30.8 14,670 Americas South America 2012 See notes below.
Ecuador 12.4 1,924 Americas South America 2012 
French Guiana (France) 13.3 30 Americas South America 2009 
Guyana 17.0 135 Americas South America 2012 
Paraguay 9.7 649 Americas South America 2012 
Peru 9.6 2,865 Americas South America 2012 
Suriname 6.1 33 Americas South America 2012 
Uruguay 7.9 267 Americas South America 2012 
Venezuela 53.7 16,072 Americas South America 2012 
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Then, there are actually:
1.) Only five countries with lower homicide rates than in the US in the west. 
2.) 38 Countries, if my count is right, in total in the west counted by UNODC.
3.) 32 Countries show higher murder rates than the US (they count PR & VI, separately).
4.) 6 Countries in the UK (where I believe handguns are banned) and 3 countries in France have higher homicide rates with just one French jurisdiction enjoying a lower rate.
5.) Statistics are always problematic because one cannot know how many police, military, or judicial killings are counted as homicide (Intentional homicide, as defined by UNODC, is "unlawful death purposefully inflicted on a person by another person"), and one even marvels if Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Brazil, or Venezuela are CAPABLE of counting their homicides. I doubt it.
So you may want to amend your through-your-hat statement about "every other western country," and begin taking potshots at your fellow United Kingdom realm subjects and French neighbors to the east. I won't hold my breath.
Cheers.