Crime Rate In Nigeria Vs Crime Rate In America And The Western World

I was conversing to a friend today who happens to live full time in Nigeria and he told me that Nigeria is far better than America as Crime rate in America is higher than crime rate in Nigeria. Being that this is not the first time I have actually been told this by people with his mind set, I was wondering if there is actual data out their to show that this statement is in any way valid. Is there some source that supports this claim of lower crime rate in Nigeria compared to crime rate in America?

Many people in America own guns does not translate many people in america are criminals though. Crime in Nigeria may not be gun related but does that mean that because there are more guns readily available to Americans, Americans are more prone to committing crimes?

uuumm,  I currently live in the west and I have yet to have any crime committed against me. I have lived for a 10 years straight stay and to this day, no 419, not mugging, no nothing when it comes to family, friends and all.  What are you trying to say??

But,  what gives you the idea that crime here is as rampant as it is in Nigeria though?? I started this thread cause I have met so many with that mind set who continually make those claims as if what they see shown over and over on TV spell what happens in every street and corner out here. Do you know that in the UK alone, the police there did not use to carry guns at all cause of the low rate of violent crimes there??

Its probably worse in Nigeria but you can't know the actual figures because 90% of crimes are not recorded whereas 90% of crimes will probably be recorded in the US

Simple Example
Mobile handset is stolen in nigeria probably a lot in Nigeria, but i doubt anyone will go to the police to report his/her handset stolen.  
Example: 100 mobile phones stolen everday(which is a very minimum figure)= 3000 PerMonth =1,095,000 per yr.

That is, more than 1 million people will not report their phones stolen, where as in America all that will be stored in a database which would be made public annually.

Now calculate the crimes for Harassment, Aggravated Assault, Robbery, Motor Vehicle Thefts, Murder, Forcible Rape.
don't forget to include: Fraud, Drug Traffickers, CyberCrimes, Money Laundering etc

Need i say more?

Precisely. Another observation is what we consider crime here  is considered normal happening in Nigeria. For instance, if I went out to get a tag and was asked to pay bribe here, I would dial 911 immediately and that might be the top news of the evening as such is considered a big deal here but in Nigeria, people comfortably pay up and leave without questioning these things. I am amazed at hour easily people in Nigeria claim that crime is highest here when the same would comfortably tell you of how a policeman collected this amount and that amount from them or how they were duped into buying low quality product that they can not take back for a refund.

Imagine how much worse Nigeria would be if every hoodlum could go to the market to buy a gun!
Imagine how much worse those our inter-ethnic riots would be if guns were available to the rioters!

How do you know crimes in naija is less than crimes in the western world when naija does not even record 90% of the crimes that's occured

you can't just walk into a market to buy a gun in the US. u have to buy from a verified dealer and get a mental checkup plus a gun license. automated or machine guns are inaccessible to most people.   


guns are already available to nigerian rioters.  guns don't kill people, people kill people.  wasn't the machette just as effective in killing during the rwandan genocide.

When guns are being sold openly, it's easy for a few to slip through the cracks.  Plus, getting a gun license doesn't imply that you are incapable of committing a crime.  Plus, a criminal can steal a gun from someone with a license.  A young criminal can take his dad's licensed gun from the safe and use it. Etc.

Criminals do not need automated guns to kill.

There is crime in Nigeria, but it is not as deadly as crime abroad.  In Nigeria, if you get into a fight, you may be beaten up badly.  In the western world, if you get into a fight, you may be shot.  Do you see the difference?  The few criminals that have access to guns, you can see how ruthless they are.  Now what if every jobless good-for-nothing on your street could get a gun through a friend of a friend?

If you look at the crime in Niger Delta, it's bad because these boys have machine guns and rocket launchers and speedboats.  I believe that people should be free to protect themselves, but not at the expense of lives.  A dead man cannot enjoy freedom. 

People should be trained to protect themselves through non-lethal means.  A pepper spray may not kill your attacker, but it will help you defend yourself.  Same goes for tranquilizer guns and tasers in the hands of police.  The use of force doesn't have to be lethal.  Self-defense is not about killing a criminal; it's about not getting killed.  If you can protect yourself without taking a life, then you're morally obligated to do so.

tboy1 has said it all.
It's a fact that most cases in Nigeria are not reported to the police ranging from trivial issues like a man beating his wife to homicide.

Even if it's proven that crime rate in Nigeria is low ( I extremely doubt this), I'D rather have the sanity and assurance of a case being handled by the necessary authorities in the West than the fruitlessness of the Nigerian police.

Open this link below and see for yourself - the crime statistics in New York alone - where there were 921 murder cases in 2006 alone, 3169 rape in 2006 alone, 34, 489 robbery in 2006 alone - 68, 565 burglary in 2006 alone - 32, 134 theft in 2006 alone - 45, 387 assault in 2006 alone - etc

http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/nycrime.htm

Then tell me where the crime rate is worse - Nigeria or America -

Remember New York is only one state in the whole of America.

People just open their mouth and talk negative about Nigeria without recourse to facts.

Something must be potentially wrong with the way you think if you think that 921 people can be killed in Lagos State alone in the year 2006.

In the whole of America in 2006 - 17, 034 people were killed - in one year alone - can that ever happen in Nigeria in one year alone? Common - lets be reasonable - lets think before we write - lets be objective - lets be human -

Open this othr link and compare the Nigerian statistics with the American statistics - of course I expect you not to beleive the Nigerian statistics - but beleive the American statistics - because to you people - nothing good comes out of Nigeria.

http://www.cleen.org/crime%20statistics%201994-2003_graphics.pdf

At least open the statistics and comapre - year by year.

No where can be less safe than a country where 17, 034 human beings were murdered in one single year -

1,417,745 - violent

9,983,568

17,034   -   murder

92,455   -    rape

447,403  --- robbery

862,947  -    assault

2,183,746  ---- burglary

6,607,013  ------theft

1,192,809   -----vehicle theft



In one year - 2006 - alone in America - common - facts speaks better than being judgemental.