Crime statistics are one of the most sneaky seemingly-scientific fallacy ever.
Because crime rate is always a mix of many factors, like:
- What is considered criminal activity in a given area
- How many people actually commit criminal activity
- How efficient the police system is
- Their willingness to release data on criminality
But people most often want to interpret it as #2 only
You're right, it depends what is even listed as a crime...Is rape, pedophilia, Happy slapping, internet crime etc...are those even taken into account in every country...
Anyone seen Hot Fuzz? Not saying it could be exactly like that, but some countries could be hiding the real criminal stats...