The UK vs Australia: A Crime Comparison

October 25, 2016

With an estimated 162,000 convicts transported to the various Australian penal colonies, widespread immigration from over 200 countries since the end of World War II and over 240 years of colonial rule it would seem that Australia is something of multicultural masterpiece. But what type of country did this distinct and unique history give birth to? Does its celebrated history of convict ancestors bear any wrong doings in today’s Australia? And how does it compare to the UK? Yes, in this section we take a close look at crime. Comparing crime rates and taking a detailed look at people’s feelings towards safety in their respective countries.



Crime Rates



Beginning with general crime rates you can already see that the UK and Australia have little difference in their assault and murder rates. While the murder rate does spike slightly for Australians per 100,000 inhabitants, there is a drop of 0.4% of people victimised by assaults in Australia compared to the UK. It should be mentioned that the higher assault rate for the UK doesn’t necessarily mean more people are assaulted, but it does mean more people in the UK are willing to report an assault.





The good news for both citizens of the UK and Australia is that the murder rate is extraordinarily low compared to the world average, which sees more than 4 murders per 100,000 inhabitants. Crikey.



Safety and Fear of Crime



So how do the people feel about these crime rates? Do the low rates reflect in society? Is it safe to walk the streets? Does crime lurk around every corner? Using a variety of surveys we find out how people really feel about crime and safety in their society.

In our first survey we addressed the fear factor. Over a cross section of society from the UK and Australia we asked firstly, “How worried are you about violent crime?” and then, “How worried are you about crime?”. Respondents were asked to rate using the scale of 0 – 100 with the higher the value representing their belief that violent crime or crime is more prevalent.

As you can see again, the differences between the UK and Australia are minimal. Both clearly feel quite relaxed about crime, with violent crime scoring particularly well with a rating of less than 30 out of 100. In terms of general crime, the scoring does jump up slightly, but again, both countries score very close together - with only a two point swing to Australia.



While the first survey shows some promising statistics regarding fear of crime in both Australia and the UK, it doesn’t give us any major differences between the two countries. To continue with this stream we ran a further survey addressing safety when walking alone. Over a cross section of society from the UK and Australia we asked firstly, “How safe do you feel walking alone in daylight?” and then, “How safe do you feel walking alone at night?”. This time respondents were asked to rate using the scale of 0 – 100 with the higher the value representing their belief that it is safe to walk alone in daylight or at night.

Again, the survey found very little difference in opinion. Both feel that walking alone during daylight is quite safe, with Australia hitting a slightly higher score. And, unsurprisingly, both scores dropped when the question changed to walking alone at night.



Who Wins – Another Draw!



If one was trying to be pedantic I guess you could say that the United Kingdom takes this comparison. The murder rate is slightly lower and, in general, respondents felt less fear and safer; according to our surveys. But, the difference between the two countries is well within the margin of error and with such low crime statistics both countries make very safe destinations.