On 26-Feb-2005, "BCITORGB" wrote:

But, as you well know, crime statistics are not easily compared. What
may be recorded as a "crime" in Britain, may be recorded as a nuisance
in Canada or the USA. I don't know, and neither do you. If we're to
talk about "violent crimes" and incidents of "violent crime", then we
need to ensure that we're talking about the same thing in each country.
To date, everything that I've read indicates that people much more
knowledgeable and you or I are grappling with these comparisons.

One very important characteristic of these statistics is the change in
the way spousal abuse has been treated over the years. What used to
be a "family problem" is now a crime. This change has taken place
at different rates in different countries over the last several decades.

Mike