Using the data from the Most Dangerous Countries in the World chart in the unit lesson, (ATTACHED) discuss your analyses and arguments on how the United States differs from the other dangerous countries listed.

ANSWER THE ABOVE QUESTION AND THEN REPLY TO MY CLASSMATE’S RESPONSE TO THE ABOVE QUESTION AND EXPLAIN WHY YOU AGREE? (A MINIMUM OF 125 WORDS or MORE EACH QUESTION)

                                                            CLASSMATE’S POST

The United States differs from the other countries in the chart in many different ways. Starting with population. We have the highest population out of all of the countries. In fact, our population almost doubles the other countries. Also, our population is spread out over a large land mass which means less people living in close proximity such as in the most dangerous country, Syria, which has over 18 million people crammed into just under 200,000 square kilometers! That’s a lot of people living in close proximity. The United States also differs in its laws and constitutional beliefs which includes law enforcement. Although we do not have near the officers that Sudan does, we have a general social belief and following of laws that makes our country less dangerous than some of the other countries.

MCJ 5135, Theory of Crime and Criminology 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit II

Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. Analyze the concepts of crime, criminal law, and criminology.
1.1 Differentiate between methods of criminological research.
1.2 Categorize characteristics of criminal behavior.
1.3 Summarize research on victimology.

Course/Unit
Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

1 Unit lesson

1.1 Chapter 2; Essay

1.2 Chapter 3; Essay

1.3 Chapter 4; Essay

Reading Assignment

Chapter 2: Research Methods in Criminology

Chapter 3: General Characteristics of Crime and Criminals

Chapter 4: What is Victimology?

Unit Lesson

Criminological and Victimological Analysis

Crimes committed, victims of crimes, and criminals can be counted, analyzed, categorized, defined,
examined, researched, and appraised on macro and micro levels. Once reliable data are collected, they can
be placed in boxes to be used as reference points to use in describing history and forecasting possible
futures.

For research persons interested in changing outcomes and perhaps reducing crimes, methods can be
devised, analyzed, funded, and implemented to do so. In the end, the process starts over to determine and
analyze the effects of the methods, and the circle goes around as it has for thousands of years. Even so,
crimes are committed, victims are injured, and criminals exist in societies around the world. The point is that
persons working in the criminal justice field must be wary of relying strictly on one study. For example, in the
Crime File 2.3 on page 34 of the textbook, The Crime Dip, Levitt and Donohue (as cited in Hagan, 2017)
argue that legalized abortion was responsible for a falling crime rate. Their reasoning is that the Supreme
Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion prevented unwanted potential criminals from being
born, so in 1992 the crime rate dropped. This situation describes but one of many systems for analyzing data
with the intention of devising systems or methods for crime reduction. Perhaps criminologists and
victimologists need to try another method that has an excellent reputation in other fields: analyze systems that
provide the best results and copy them.

UNIT II STUDY GUIDE

Criminological Analysis

MCJ 5135, Theory of Crime and Criminology 2

Safest Countries in the World:

# Country Geography
– Square

Kilometers

Population Ratio
Size/

Population

Predominant
Religion

GDP
Rank

Ratio of
Police to

Population
in

100,000

Guns per
100

Residents

1 Switzerland 41,210 8,379,477 203 Roman
Catholic

10 210 46

2 Singapore 693 5,696,506 8,220 Buddhist 3 713 0.5
3 Hong Kong 1,092 7,346,248 6,727 Unknown 11 393 ?
4 Bahrain 665 1,396,829 2,100 Islam (Shiite

and Sunni)
14 1900 25

5 Luxembourg 2,586 576,243 223 Roman
Catholic

2 278 15

6 Japan 377,835 126,323,715 334 Shintoism-
Buddhist

4 198 0.6

7 Iceland 103,000 331,718 3 Lutheran 20 198 30
8 Ireland 70,273 4,713,993 67 Roman

Catholic
8 252 4.3

9 Denmark 43,094 5,690,750 132 Lutheran 60 19 12
10 Cyprus 9,250 1,176,598 127 Greek

Orthodox
35 36

Averages 54,670 16,163,200 1,813 15 495 17

Most Dangerous Countries in the World:

# Country Geography
– Square

Kilometers;

Population Ratio
Size/
Population
Predominant
Religion

GD
P

Ran
k

Ratio of
Police to

Populatio
n in

100,000

Guns
per 100

Resi-
dents

1 Syria 185,180 18,563,595 100 Islam (Sunni) 139 ? 4

2 Somalia 637,657 11,079,013 17 Islam (Sunni) 198 198 9

3 Nigeria 1,267,000 186,987,563 147 Islam (50%);
Christian (40%)

123 205 1.5

4 Afghanistan 647,500 33,369,945 52 Islam (80%
Sunni; Shiite
19%)

165 401 4.6

5 Sudan 619,745 12,733,427 21 Islam (Sunni) 163 629 5.5

6 United
States

9,629,091 324,118,787 33 Christian/Catho
lics 76%

11 256 113

7 Iraq 437,072 37,547,686 87 Islam (Shiite
60%; Sunni
37%)

79 ? 34

8 Pakistan 830,940 192,826,502 232 Islam (Sunni
77%; Shiite
20%)

133 207 12

9 Mexico 1,964,375 128,630,004 65 Roman
Catholic

64 366 15

10 Russia 17,098,246 143.439.832 8 Russian
Orthodox
(17%) Only
32% practice
any

48 546 9

Averages 3,396,431 108,929,635 32 120 351 21
(Bertrand & Fuchs, 2015; Sydney School of Public Health, n.d.; Interpol, n.d.; List of countries by area, n.d.; International Monetary Fund, 2016.; Central Intelligence Agency,
n.d.; Top 10 most dangerous countries in the world, n.d.)

MCJ 5135, Theory of Crime and Criminology 3

The above two tables are not scientific in that the data presented, while taken from reputable sources, were
not filtered, vetted or even correlated for timeframes, quality of the research, or peer-reviewed data. For this
reason, they cannot be used for any study, but are merely a sample of what criminologists and victimologists
can do with data. What do you find is the most consistent and obvious data that would require further
analysis? Did you note that no nation was listed in the top 10 safest countries and eight of the 10 most
dangerous nations were listed as predominantly Islamic? Can you see how a research paper could be written
on the cause of violence being based on a religious belief? Now analyze the data more closely; Syria, for
example, may not be at the top of the list because of religious issues; maybe its position can be attributed to
civil war. If so, then one would have to collect data and do research on the eight countries listed as Islamic
nations to better understand why each scores in its position. The textbook addresses more than 20 separate
studies that probably contain charts like the samples above, so how are these charts relevant?

Consider the following possible conclusions based on the charts after extensive research by each of the
following researchers.

 Researcher #1: Nations must divide to have smaller landmasses; Texas and California should
separate from the United States.

 Researcher #2: Nations must reduce population to have a smaller ratio between land and population.

 Researcher #3: Gun ownership does not affect crime rates.

 Researcher #4: The United States must adopt Japanese culture and ethics.

 Researcher #5: Gross Domestic Product per capita must be increased.

This phenomenon happens when researchers, both criminologist and victimologists, gather data and write
research papers. The conclusion then for criminal justice practitioners would be not to focus exclusively on
one research study or school of thought, such as the Levitt and Donohue studies. For the purpose of helping
develop a comprehensive understanding of how research, studies, expert opinions, schools of thought, and
government decisions involving criminal justice should be used, keep the above short exercise in mind and try
not to fixate on any one magic bullet to stop crime.

Maybe there are no solutions, but efforts must be made to reduce the United States’ position as the sixth
most dangerous country in the world though the nation is ranked 11th in Gross Domestic Profits per capita.
One must question whether it is possible to get an entire nation to accept the wisdom of the golden rule, “Do
unto others as you would that they should do unto you,” which John Locke designated as the most unshaken
rule of morality and foundation of all social virtues. Confucius in around 500 BCE stated the rule in a slightly
different way in Book XV. xxiii, and again in Book V. xi: “What you do not want done to yourself do not do unto
others.” The Golden Rule would be an excellent solution to crime if we found a way to force acceptance by
every living person. Benjamin Franklin was right; religious beliefs tend to help lower the crime rate, but it can
also be said that they do not cause it to cease to exist.

References

Bertrand, N. & Fuchs, E. (2015). 20 of the safest cities in the world. Retrieved from

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-20-safest-cities-in-the-world-2015-1

Central Intelligence Agency. (n.d.) The world factbook. Retrieved from

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

Hagan, F. E. (2017), Introduction to criminology: Theories, methods, and criminal behavior (9th ed.).

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Interpol. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.interpol.int/en

International Monetary Fund. (2016). Download entire World Economic Outlook database. Retrieved from

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2016/02/weodata/download.aspx

Sydney School of Public Health. (n.d.). Global impact of gun violence. Retrieved from

http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/

MCJ 5135, Theory of Crime and Criminology 4

United Nations. (2015). Total population – both sexes. Retrieved from
data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3A12

Top 10 Most Dangerous Countries In The World 2015. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.abcnewspoint.com/top-10-most-dangerous-countries-in-the-world-2015/

Suggested Reading

In order to access the following resource, click the link below:

The recent deaths of unarmed African-American citizens have been hot-button issues lately. Would an
increase in African-Americans and other minorities on police forces help to reduce incidents like these? This
article explores that concept.

Ozkan, T., & Worrall, J. L. (2016). Does minority representation in police agencies reduce assaults on the

police? American Journal of Criminal Justice, 41(3), 402–423. Retrieved from
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=https://libraryresources.columbia
southern.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/docview/1
812278636?accountid=33337

Learning Activities (Nongraded)

Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit
them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information.

Anderson v. United States, 417 U.S. 211 (1974). Retrieved from https://advance-lexis-

com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/api/permalink/7bb9f5e7-af9a-4f79-8770-
27d6925208a8/?context=1516831

California v. Green, 399 U.S. 149 (1970). Retrieved from https://advance-lexis-

com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/api/permalink/e64b7692-ac09-4a80-99c7-
ef69c4ce7ee5/?context=1516831

Open the above cases and determine what the facts of the cases were, understand Justice Douglas’ dissent
in Anderson v. United States, and understand Justice Brennan’s dissent in California v. Green.

https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/docview/1812278636?accountid=33337

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https://advance-lexis-com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/api/permalink/7bb9f5e7-af9a-4f79-8770-27d6925208a8/?context=1516831

https://advance-lexis-com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/api/permalink/7bb9f5e7-af9a-4f79-8770-27d6925208a8/?context=1516831

https://advance-lexis-com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/api/permalink/e64b7692-ac09-4a80-99c7-ef69c4ce7ee5/?context=1516831

https://advance-lexis-com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/api/permalink/e64b7692-ac09-4a80-99c7-ef69c4ce7ee5/?context=1516831

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