# Sam Harris on a world without guns

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-harris-on-a-world-without-guns/648808>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [January 30, 2013, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-harris-on-a-world-without-guns/648808 "2013-01-30T14:06:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 71

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**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\
**Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-harris-on-a-world-without-guns/648808/71 "2013-01-31T10:22:41Z")

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> [@ExTank](#):
>
> [I dispute your assertion and offer this: “Choose Your Own Crime Stats.”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ooa98FHuaU0&feature=share)

It’s a good piece of work, but the author/presenter trips up by not checking definitions.

The FBI definition of violent crime is:

[

> [@FBI](#):
>
> In the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, violent crime is composed of four offenses: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.

]([http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/violent-crime](http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/violent-crime))

The Home Office defintion is considerably looser:  
[

> [@Home Office](#):
>
> **Violent crime contains a wide range of offences, from minor assaults such as pushing and shoving that result in no physical harm through to serious incidents of wounding and murder**. Around a half of violent incidents identified by both BCS and police statistics involve no injury to the victim.

]([http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/hosb1011/hosb1011?view=Binary](http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/hosb1011/hosb1011?view=Binary))

If you only look at the UK’s incidence of murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault (GBH in UK-crime-speak) you get a comparable violent crime rate of **202 per 100K.** \* Pretty much half of the US rate\*\* for the same offenses.\*\*

(Source: Table 1 of the [same document shared in the video](http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/hosb0812/hosb0812?view=Binary)).

\*Murder and attempted murder: 1161; GBH with intent: 19,489; GBH without intent 15,112; All rape: 15892; All robbery: 76,189. Total: 127843 violent crimes. UK Pop = 62.3M. Please check my working.

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