[extropy-chat] Re: blah snip: Gun control [Australia]

[Mike Lorrey]

--- Damien Broderick <thespike at satx.rr.com> wrote:
> At 02:33 PM 4/3/2004 -0700, peter wrote to some other list entirely:
> 
> >. . . and might I add, a quick google on crime stats in Australia
> landed me
> >with this gem from Snopes, who was probably a lot more sober than I
> when he
> >wrote this :
> >
> >< http://www.snopes.com/crime/statistics/ausguns.asp >
> 
> Indeed. Additionally, one might consult the underlying population
> stats:
> 
>
http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/b52c3903d894336dca2568a9001393

c1?OpenDocument
> 
> which don't explain everything, but do need to be taken into account
> when 
> anyone claims that X has risen (in raw numbers, not proportionally)
> by Y%.

>From the snopes article:
"The ABS does report that the number of assaults on victims aged 65 and
over has increased over the last few years, but hardly in a proportion
one would describe as "dramatic": 

Number of victims of assault aged 65 and over: 
1996 - 1474 
1997 - 1662   (12.8% increase from previous year) 
1998 - 1663   (0.06% increase from previous year) 
1999 - 1793   (7.8% increase from previous year) "

I am rather shocked that a 21% increase in one type of crime is not
seen as 'dramatic'.

Also look at:
http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs%40.nsf/e8ae5488b598839cca25682000131612/76c8926bd8a12e1fca2568a9001393f2!OpenDocument

Where the Murder/manslaughter rate for Australia is 1.8 per 100,000,
which is double the rate here in NH.

Lets look at them all, AU vs NH:

                 Vio-  Ppty   Mrdr/                              Mtr
      Pop. Crime lent  crime  n-neg. Frc.      Agg.        Larc  Vhcl.
           Index Crime        manslt rape Rbry asslt Burg. thft  thft 
NH
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tot. 1.28M 28306 2056  26250  12     446  413  1185  4838  19468 1944  

rate/
100k       2220  161.2 2058.7 0.9    35.0 32.4 92.9  379.4 1526.8 152.5



AU
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tot 19.9M 1.39M  179K  1.2M   363   17851 21k  160k  293k  679k   113k

rate/
100k      6979  900.6 6078.7  1.83  89.8 105.4 802.5 1983  3418  570.3

It appears that the ONLY categories where Australia's crime rates are
even as close as double New Hampshire's crime rates are larceny theft
and murder/manslaughter. The rest range from 3-7 times higher than NH's
crime rates.
 



=====
Mike Lorrey
Chairman, Free Town Land Development
"Live Free or Die, Death is not the Worst of Evils."
                                       - Gen. John Stark
Sado-Mikeyism: http://mikeysoft.zblogger.com

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