Does it blow your mind that Washington, D.C. has over triple the homicide rate of Mexico City?

[TheReckoning]

Despite the reputation that Mexico is a far more dangerous country than the United States, Mexico’s capital city has less than one third the homicide rate of the United States’ capital city (10 per 100,000 vs. 30 per 100,000). Does this blow your mind?

[Frodo]

It does because I work there every day, and never once did I ever feel at risk. Fancy that. 

[7,052,770]

Is this an apples-to-apples comparison?

[certified hummus supporter 🇵🇸🤝🇺🇸🤝🇺🇦]

reckoning threaf

[Obama24]

Not particularly. Aren't capital cities in general notorious for higher crime rates as compared to the rest of the locality etc?

What it highlights is there are social problems in our society that need rectifying. Mexico City's problems are Mexico's.

[The Arizonan]

It is mind blowing because Washington, D.C. does not even have one million people whereas Mexico City has several million.

[Upper Canada Tory]

Keep in mind that Mexico's overall homicide rate is five times that of the United States - the US is still a much safer country than Mexico on average. DC is just an outlier in terms of how dangerous it is, and Mexico City is an outlier in terms of how relatively safe it is.

But no, I am not surprised that outliers like DC exist. What blows my mind more is how much higher American homicide rates are compared to Canadian ones. Washington DC's homicide rate is 20 times that of Ottawa. New York City's homicide rate is double that of Toronto or Montreal.

[T'Chenka]

What blows my mind more is how much higher American homicide rates are compared to Canadian ones. Washington DC's homicide rate is 20 times that of Ottawa. New York City's homicide rate is double that of Toronto or Montreal.

Guns.

[GM Team Member and Deputy PPT WB]

It is mind blowing because Washington, D.C. does not even have one million people whereas Mexico City has several million.

shouldn't really matter since it's a rate, not flat number

[ingemann]

It is mind blowing because Washington, D.C. does not even have one million people whereas Mexico City has several million.

shouldn't really matter since it's a rate, not flat number

Size still matters, one of the reason bigger cities also have higher crime rates is because it easier to hide in the crowd. Washington DC has a size where you don’t even need to go especially draconian to bring the crime rates significantly down. But as Frodo says it’s not like the crime is especially high for the people who matters, it’s mostly a poor people problem.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

It is mind blowing because Washington, D.C. does not even have one million people whereas Mexico City has several million.

shouldn't really matter since it's a rate, not flat number

Size still matters, one of the reason bigger cities also have higher crime rates is because it easier to hide in the crowd. Washington DC has a size where you don’t even need to go especially draconian to bring the crime rates significantly down. But as Frodo says it’s not like the crime is especially high for the people who matters, it’s mostly a poor people problem.

Someone forgot to tell Tokyo and Singapore that large cities and capital cities are supposed to have high murder rates.

[TheReckoning]

It is mind blowing because Washington, D.C. does not even have one million people whereas Mexico City has several million.

shouldn't really matter since it's a rate, not flat number

Size still matters, one of the reason bigger cities also have higher crime rates is because it easier to hide in the crowd. Washington DC has a size where you don’t even need to go especially draconian to bring the crime rates significantly down. But as Frodo says it’s not like the crime is especially high for the people who matters, it’s mostly a poor people problem.

Well, Mexico City has a much higher population than DC. So wouldn’t that imply it ought to have a higher homicide rate?

[ingemann]

It is mind blowing because Washington, D.C. does not even have one million people whereas Mexico City has several million.

shouldn't really matter since it's a rate, not flat number

Size still matters, one of the reason bigger cities also have higher crime rates is because it easier to hide in the crowd. Washington DC has a size where you don’t even need to go especially draconian to bring the crime rates significantly down. But as Frodo says it’s not like the crime is especially high for the people who matters, it’s mostly a poor people problem.

Well, Mexico City has a much higher population than DC. So wouldn’t that imply it ought to have a higher homicide rate?

Yes, it ought. Mexico is a far poorer country, with a weaker monopoly of force, and far greater inequality. The fact that they can keep their crime below that of Washington DC is incredible embarrassing for USA.

[Hollywood]

No.  I'm sure I mentioned it happening.  Fentanyl moved into the black communities.  Thus, DC opioid deaths surged to 518 last year and there were 278 homicide deaths.  There were 203 homicides in 2022.  In Philly, Opioid deaths surged to 1,400 in 2022.  Murders peaked in 2021 to 562 and dropped to 512 in 2022.  

Apparently, psychostimulants are also contributing to overdose reports around the country.  Apparently, prescription psychostimulants like Adderall are showing up in a number of cocaine, methamphetamine, and opioid deaths.  https://mentalhealth.bmj.com/content/26/1/e300728

The worst areas seem to be located on the West Coast in states like Oregon, Nevada, and California, along with the 'border states'.  Overdose deaths from cocaine and methamphetamine rising faster than fentanyl.  https://www.ocregister.com/2024/04/17/move-over-fentanyl-stimulant-overdose-deaths-are-rising-fast/

A 300% increase in the number of reports to poison control between 2020-201.   The most common report was from men that had taken more than their prescribed amount, or taking someone elses medication.  Currently, almost 5% of the US population is taking ADHD drugs, but a report found that around 50 million were dispensed a psychostimulant (15%)
https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/newsroom/news-releases/2023/09/adhd-medication-errors-study

It's obviously the fault of psychologists and drug companies just like it was with Opioids.  

[Upper Canada Tory]

What blows my mind more is how much higher American homicide rates are compared to Canadian ones. Washington DC's homicide rate is 20 times that of Ottawa. New York City's homicide rate is double that of Toronto or Montreal.

Guns.

Moreso homicide clearance rates by police, which are lower in the US than in Canada and other developed countries. Only half of homicides in the US are solved, compared to two-thirds of homicides in Canada.

[TheReckoning]

Is this an apples-to-apples comparison?

City-to-city, so yeah.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Is Mexico City’s plummeting murder rate too good to be true? (Nov. 2023)

But one data point complicates the picture: the ever-growing number of disappeared people in the capital. Each year hundreds, sometimes more than a thousand, go missing.

This has spurred investigators to take a closer look at the city’s success story.

“I think it’s quite probable that lots of the people who disappeared have in reality been murdered,” said Elena Azaola, an academic and member of the citizen council for the Search Commission in Mexico City. “And these homicides are not being counted.”

Azaola’s research underlines that the official data on homicides and disappearances is so fragmented and inconsistent that it is hard to draw any conclusions with confidence.

Mexico’s forensic service, its National Geography and Statistics Institute and the National Public Security System each compile their own homicide tallies – and most years those totals differ by hundreds.

Meanwhile, every year since 2016, the cause of between 25 and 47% of violent deaths has not been identified, making it difficult to know if they were homicides, suicides or accidents. This proportion is far higher in Mexico City than anywhere else in the country, for reasons that are unclear.

[TheReckoning]

Is Mexico City’s plummeting murder rate too good to be true? (Nov. 2023)

But one data point complicates the picture: the ever-growing number of disappeared people in the capital. Each year hundreds, sometimes more than a thousand, go missing.

This has spurred investigators to take a closer look at the city’s success story.

“I think it’s quite probable that lots of the people who disappeared have in reality been murdered,” said Elena Azaola, an academic and member of the citizen council for the Search Commission in Mexico City. “And these homicides are not being counted.”

Azaola’s research underlines that the official data on homicides and disappearances is so fragmented and inconsistent that it is hard to draw any conclusions with confidence.

Mexico’s forensic service, its National Geography and Statistics Institute and the National Public Security System each compile their own homicide tallies – and most years those totals differ by hundreds.

Meanwhile, every year since 2016, the cause of between 25 and 47% of violent deaths has not been identified, making it difficult to know if they were homicides, suicides or accidents. This proportion is far higher in Mexico City than anywhere else in the country, for reasons that are unclear.

Even if we say that every single unknown violent cause of death in DC is a homicide (which is impossible), that still doesn’t make up for the difference. And that’s not even mentioning how many people disappear/have unknown violent causes of death that deflate DC’s homicide stats as well.

[Fuzzy Bear]

I suspect that many, many murders in Mexico City go unreported.

[7,052,770]

Is this an apples-to-apples comparison?

City-to-city, so yeah.

No though? Mexico City has a much larger area and includes some land that Washington can't because it's not part of the extremely small District of Columbia. If the District of Columbia were never a thing but Washington still the capital, it's borders would presumably be much larger.

Imagine comparing the crime rate if a 68 sq mi section of Chicago to the entirety of New York City.