The rate of Homicide in the USA and Canada

The rate of Homicide in the USA and Canada

Introduction

Notably, there is an elevated variation in homicide cases between Canada and United which is much inclined to various major factors such as gun violence, illegal immigration, elevated drug abuse and trafficking among other factors. By definition, homicide is the killing of an individual by another and it only requires the volitional act to another personal for it to be termed as a homicide. Homicide can be divided into various overlapping legal categories including manslaughter, murder, war, capital punishment and justifiable murder.  In the United States, the homicide rate in 2016 was 11.8 per 100,000 and in that of Canada in the same year was 1.69 per 100,000 population (Paliwal et al. 2016). This is a considerably large deviation between the two countries a factor that shows there is a systematic gap in the United States compared to Canada. The major objective of this paper is to explore the some of the major reason why the homicide rate in the US is so high compared to Canada through the analysis of various related variables and factors.

The reason why there is a high rate of homicide in the US than in Canada can be related to four major issues which include gun violence, poverty, substance abuse and trafficking and illegal immigration.  Notably, gun violence in United has for a long been a problem due to the associated flooding of unregistered firearms in the streets. Compared to the United States, Canada has better laws and policies that are used in control of firearm ownership and use (Siegel, Ross & King, 2014). Statistics indicate that most of the homicides cases in the United States are as a result of firearms and in particular gun violence. Efforts to develop proper gun control laws and policies in the country have for a long time been futile.

Substance abuse and trafficking is another factor that has contributed increased homicide in the US compared to Canada. The US has been quoted as among the leading countries in drug abuse such that the government has found it difficult to remedy the problem. Drug traffickers all over the world and especially from Mexico and South America find the US as the most suitable market for their product due to the high prices that they fetch on their products (Hockin, Rogers, & Pridemore, 2018).  Palpably, anywhere there is elevated drug abuse and trafficking, homicides, and violence are expected and in the United States, this aspect is supplemented by the increased number of firearms in the streets.  Family-related homicide and violence are also on the rise in the United States compared to Canada a factor that has also been correlated with increased drug abuse in the country.

Another factor is poverty. This element might sound strange but Canada has less and better organized urban areas compared to the USA. Notably, the USA has several high-density urban areas that have been affected by both intergeneration and systematic poverty. As a result, crime has become among the most lucrative activities of many people in this urban areas. Evidently, crime and homicides are inseparable. Murder mainly occur due to violence, burglary or self-defense in most of the United States cities.

The issue of immigration has also been quoted as another element that has contributed to the issue of increased homicide in the USA. Canada has relatively stable borders compared to the US.  Many people migrate from Mexico to the US and due to lack of employment, they end up in gangs, which are among the leading cause of the high rate of homicide in the country.

References

Hockin, S., Rogers, M. L., & Pridemore, W. A. (2018). Population-level alcohol consumption       and national homicide rates. European Journal of Criminology, 15(2), 235-252.

Paliwal, A., Cabrera, N., Dougherty, J., & Klofas, J. (2016). Comparison of cities’ homicide         rates over time: 2015 data. Center for Public Safety Initiatives. Working Paper, 7.

Siegel, M., Ross, C. S., & King, C. (2014). Examining the relationship between the            prevalence of guns and homicide rates in the USA using a new and improved state- level gun ownership proxy. Injury prevention, injuryprev-2014.