Prestwich_Blue
Well-Known Member
According to Dirty Harry's logic then, burglaries should be far less common in the good ol' US of A as the perpetrator is risking his life by breaking in to a property where the occupier might well be armed.
But that's not borne out by the stats. Reported burglaries in the USA are about 700 per 100,000 people. In the UK, it's about 500/100,000. So it's lower here anyway but burglary is defined quite differently in the 2 countries and is much wider in the UK, where even an unsuccessful attempt to enter a property with intent to steal is classed as a burglary. About 40% of these actually involve entry to a property resulting in a theft, which is the US definition. That means that the equivalent figures in the UK are around 200/100,000. Doesn't seem like facing an armed householder is much of a deterrent then.
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.copinthehood.com/2011/09/burglary-in-uk.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.copinthehood.com/2011/09/burglary-in-uk.html</a>
And naturally the murder rate is about 5 times higher in the USA, as any gun owner (or someone with access to a weapon owned by someone else) with a grievance can walk into a school, college or workplace and blaze away to their heart's content.
But that's not borne out by the stats. Reported burglaries in the USA are about 700 per 100,000 people. In the UK, it's about 500/100,000. So it's lower here anyway but burglary is defined quite differently in the 2 countries and is much wider in the UK, where even an unsuccessful attempt to enter a property with intent to steal is classed as a burglary. About 40% of these actually involve entry to a property resulting in a theft, which is the US definition. That means that the equivalent figures in the UK are around 200/100,000. Doesn't seem like facing an armed householder is much of a deterrent then.
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.copinthehood.com/2011/09/burglary-in-uk.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.copinthehood.com/2011/09/burglary-in-uk.html</a>
And naturally the murder rate is about 5 times higher in the USA, as any gun owner (or someone with access to a weapon owned by someone else) with a grievance can walk into a school, college or workplace and blaze away to their heart's content.