more sandy hook questions.

[tjts1]

How long will it take people to realize that criminals don't follow laws?;)

How long will it take people to realize that all laws are pointless because criminals don't follow laws? :p

[mar1t1me]

Common misperception (or actually misuse of statistics) that US citizens are less likely to be violently assaulted in the US than England.

It's just the opposite, actually.

"The media continues to exaggerate crime. BBC news, For example, claimed UK violent crime is "spiraling" (BBC1, 14/3/05). But when you allow for the following changes in police recording practices, violent crime turns out to be falling.

Like this: car accidentally hits bicyclist. Cyclist falls to the ground "violently". This is recorded as a violent crime. And if, say, five cyclists were involved, the Brits count the incident as 5 separate violent crimes.

And according to the British Crime Survey, over half of "violent" crimes result in NO injuries.

[2761377]

How long will it take people to realize that criminals don't follow laws?;)

and since it doesn't affect them, those who want these new laws have no problem criminalizing the behavior of millions of otherwise law-abiding citizens.

[smooth]

It's just the opposite, actually.

"The media continues to exaggerate crime. BBC news, For example, claimed UK violent crime is "spiraling" (BBC1, 14/3/05). But when you allow for the following changes in police recording practices, violent crime turns out to be falling.

Like this: car accidentally hits bicyclist. Cyclist falls to the ground "violently". This is recorded as a violent crime. And if, say, five cyclists were involved, the Brits count the incident as 5 separate violent crimes.

And according to the British Crime Survey, over half of "violent" crimes result in NO injuries.

That's not the opposite of what I wrote. Re-read the sentence you quoted.

z31maniac's memory that national violent crime rates have been falling steadily for the past decade is accurate but it's unrelated to the issue of comparing violent crimes rates between the US and Britain.