34 Murders
According to this article in Aftenposten: http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1605255.ece
there were 34 murders in Norway in 2006. There are 4.5 million people in Norway, and only 34 of them were murdered in a year--that is incredible! We used to live about 45 minutes from Syracuse, New York, a city of about 150,000 people. Over the 5 years we lived in the area, about 20 people were murdered per year. Syracuse isn't a particularly dangerous city compared to other American cities--there are violent crimes across the country. It's strange that the high crime stats reported in the U.S. never shocked me, but hearing that there were only 34 murders in all of Norway last year really amazed me! I don't know why the violent crime rates are so much lower in Norway, but I would guess it has a lot to do with stricter gun control and the fact that just about everyone is middle class here. There isn't a huge gap between the "haves" and "have nots"--everyone seems to live in a nice but modest home, everyone seems to drive a nice but sensible car. I never felt unsafe anywhere in the U.S., but statistically, I guess I'm much safer now than I have ever been! Hmm, I wonder if we can get a break on our life insurance premiums now?
there were 34 murders in Norway in 2006. There are 4.5 million people in Norway, and only 34 of them were murdered in a year--that is incredible! We used to live about 45 minutes from Syracuse, New York, a city of about 150,000 people. Over the 5 years we lived in the area, about 20 people were murdered per year. Syracuse isn't a particularly dangerous city compared to other American cities--there are violent crimes across the country. It's strange that the high crime stats reported in the U.S. never shocked me, but hearing that there were only 34 murders in all of Norway last year really amazed me! I don't know why the violent crime rates are so much lower in Norway, but I would guess it has a lot to do with stricter gun control and the fact that just about everyone is middle class here. There isn't a huge gap between the "haves" and "have nots"--everyone seems to live in a nice but modest home, everyone seems to drive a nice but sensible car. I never felt unsafe anywhere in the U.S., but statistically, I guess I'm much safer now than I have ever been! Hmm, I wonder if we can get a break on our life insurance premiums now?
posted by Emily @ 12:15 PM
2 Comments:
At Wed Jan 17, 10:53:00 PM,
Tim said…
Here, on Stord, we leave our doors unlocked, keys in the car, and many even leave their children unattended - within reason and for short amounts of time, of course.
So, with the exception of Oslo, Norway is generally safer than I can ever remember the U.S. being - although, my father did cut out the seatbelts before there was a law . . . I had some fun times when he hit the brakes. ;)
At Thu Jan 18, 08:25:00 AM,
Emily said…
Ha ha, I always had to wear a seatbelt, but I don't think I was ever subjected to wearing a helmet or anything while hurtling myself down a hill on a bike, rollerskates, skateboard, etc.
It is nice to live in a place which is so safe...I wonder if I'll ever get to the point where I leave the doors unlocked though. Old habits die hard! Emily
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