Posted on 09/20/2005 7:55:35 AM PDT by Valin
A UNITED Nations report has labelled Scotland the most violent country in the developed world, with people three times more likely to be assaulted than in America. England and Wales recorded the second highest number of violent assaults while Northern Ireland recorded the fewest.
The study, based on telephone interviews with victims of crime in 21 countries, found that more than 2,000 Scots were attacked every week, almost ten times the official police figures. They include non-sexual crimes of violence and serious assaults.
Violent crime has doubled in Scotland over the past 20 years and levels, per head of population, are now comparable with cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg and Tbilisi.
The attacks have been fuelled by a “booze and blades” culture in the west of Scotland which has claimed more than 160 lives over the past five years. Since January there have been 13 murders, 145 attempted murders and 1,100 serious assaults involving knives in the west of Scotland. The problem is made worse by sectarian violence, with hospitals reporting higher admissions following Old Firm matches.
David Ritchie, an accident and emergency consultant at Glasgow’s Victoria Infirmary, said that the figures were a national disgrace. “I am embarrassed as a Scot that we are seeing this level of violence. Politicians must do something about this problem. This is a serious public health issue. Violence is a cancer in this part of the world,” he said.
Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan, head of the Strathclyde Police’s violence reduction unit, said the problem was chronic and restricting access to drink and limiting the sale of knives would at least reduce the problem.
The study, by the UN’s crime research institute, found that 3 per cent of Scots had been victims of assault compared with 1.2 per cent in America and just 0.1 per cent in Japan, 0.2 per cent in Italy and 0.8 per cent in Austria. In England and Wales the figure was 2.8 per cent.
Scotland was eighth for total crime, 13th for property crime, 12th for robbery and 14th for sexual assault. New Zealand had the most property crimes and sexual assaults, while Poland had the most robberies.
Chief Constable Peter Wilson, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, questioned the figures. “It must be near impossible to compare assault figures from one country to the next based on phone calls,” he said.
“We have been doing extensive research into violent crime in Scotland for some years now and this has shown that in the vast majority of cases, victims of violent crime are known to each other. We do accept, however, that, despite your chances of being a victim of assault being low in Scotland, a problem does exist.”
Wrong!
The United Kingdom consists of several nations. Guess which?
That's the proportional equivalent of 9,600 murders in five years, or 1,920 per year.
1,920 is 11% of America's 2003 murder stat of 16,500.
About 90 people are murdered on the average US weekend - not even 160, let alone a proportional 9,600.
Bring me my little brother,
He'll be my one true lover
England may rule the world, but Scotland's depraved.
Bring me my little sister,
You'll see how much I've missed her
England may rule the world, but Scotland's depraved.
Bring me the preacher's daughter,
You'll see how much I've taught her
England may rule the world, but Scotland's depraved.
I think the Scots and their decendents (I am not one) are among the most creative people in the world. Creativity can be used for good or bad ends. Even the Italian inventor G. Marconi had a Scotch-Irish mother.
limiting the sale of knives would at least reduce the problem...
Blaming the symptom, not addressing the root causes.See, that college education is good for something.
The study and resulting stats are erroneous. They asked a Scotsman how many people "wore kilt" over the course of a typical weekend, and he replied, "Damn near everybody, laddy!"
New Orleans is "Murder capital of the US."
A New Orleanian is now seven times more likely to be murdered than a New Yorker.
Last year, the report continues, the city had a murder rate that was nearly 10 times higher than the national average.
"IF IT'S NOT SCO'ISH IT'S CRAP!"
I didn't say we had 160 murders every weekend. But we could if we really tried hard!
(LITERALY) The 1st thing that popped into my head.
LOL!
Northern Ireland? What's going on there that makes it so safe?
Paramilitaries will use a power drill on your joints if you engage in crime they haven't sanctioned or ordered.
The most amazing thing is that people think the US is the crime capital of the world.
nope, it's Bush's fault!
It's nea a knife, it's a dirk. Up the Bonnie Prince!
We Americans can do anything we set our minds to!
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