[TarJak]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

The problem i see with those links is the simple logic. If you cram more people in a given area, your going to see more of just about everything. In other words an area with 10,000 people, is going to see more crime then an area with 1000 people. More people, equates to more problems because as you increase people your probability increases as well.

Potentially, however only if the culture supports that activity. Hence the comparison between Australia and Japan. Japan, many more people in a much smaller area; but less Assault victims per head than Japan. Kinda supports the point that culture has more to do with crime than numbers. Which was my point in answer to Platapus' theory that numbers would drive crime. IMO these numbers alone make a reasonable case for culture over population or even population density.

Looking up the 2010 demographics really quickly:
Japan has a total population of 128,057,352
United States has a total population of 308,745,531
In other words as of 2010, there are 180,688,179 more people living in the US then in Japan. So of course the first link is going to say, whatever is X percent more then japan.

But that wasn't really the point. See above.

Comparatively, grabbing the latest statistics for Japan and Australia (no 2010 stats to match):

Australia's total population is estimated at 23,248,742. (I find this hard to believe)

They counted them last year: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs%4...3?OpenDocument
Japans total population is estimated at 126,659,683.

Going by these statistics, Japan has 103,410,941 more people crammed within its borders then Australia. So of course some stats on japan will be higher.
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Again this wasn't the point I was trying to make. Yes is sheer numbers you will see more violent crimes, but in Japan vs Australia you see a definitely lower rate of violence per capita to Australia. The difference is the culture.

I think statistics like these are only telling if you have a smaller population with a greater incidence of whatever it is being looked at.

Yes that was my point. Japan has a higher population than Australia but less violent crime per capita. Japan has much higher population density that either Australia or America but again less violent crime per capita. Hence their culture must have more to do with their behaviour than sheer numbers.

edit 2: As for firearm murder stats, I have to wonder, is being murdered when your assaliant used a gun somehow more horrible then being murdered by any other means? Stabbing, strangulation, baseball bat to the head? I'd say regardless of weapon used, murder is murder.

I agree. Murder is murder, but we were talking about a shooting at a school, so talking about gun murder is more relevant that talking about strangulation for example.