Checking Wikipedia, it shows the US has a murder rate of 4.7 per 100K population versus 1.6 per 100K population in Canada. It also shows that you are 40% more likely to be robbed in the US, than in Canada (112.9 vs 79.36 per 100K pop).
If you go to the source documents referenced in the Wikipedia article (FBI, Statistics Canada), you will find that on the surface, Canada is a much more violent place, with 1,190.12 violent Criminal Code violations per 100K population versus 386.9 in the US. Again, due to differences in the laws, reporting is different. For example, 'uttering threats' is classified as a 'violent' crime in Canada. The rate of assault in Canada is 678.21 versus 242.3 for aggravated assault in the US meaning, perhaps, you are more likely to be told 'where to go' in Canada, as you are much less likely to catch a bullet for your trouble than in the US. Someone telling someone else 'where to go' may be considered a violent crime in Canada.
Personally, I've walked through many neighbourhoods in Calgary and Edmonton at night and, though I felt a little nervous in some, other than a few smart comments by drunk Natives, I've never had a problem. I can't say that would be the norm if I walked through parts of Detroit at night!
Can anything be drawn from these statistics? Generally, one is more likely to be murdered or robbed in the US, but one is more likely to be assaulted (in one form or another) in Canada.
I once did some calculations, and found that if you subtracted black homicides and Hispanic homicides, the remaining white homicide rate was about what it was in Europe and Canada.
Thanks for clearing that up.
Crime is racial. American Caucasian crime rate is no higher than Canada or Europe.
On the other hand, young black men in the US are about 3% of the population and commit 50% of the murders.
1. Personally, I've always felt more safe in Canada than in the U.S. -- especially in cities. There's just seems to be something more civilized about the way people live in a British system like that.
2. Conversely, I've felt less exposed to property crime in the U.S. than in Canada. Maybe it has something to do with lenient sentencing and excessive protections for juvenile offenders in Canada, or simply the lack of fear anyone has in Canada of encountering an armed person willing to protect his property. But it seems like I've seen an inordinate amount of vandalism, theft and break-ins when living and traveling up there.