Countryside Homicide or Westside Homicide?

In my final blog post, I will examine a topic which brilliantly ties in with my blog's title (Great, I know right!). Today, I will look at is it safer to live in a rural or urban area, in Ireland. To determine this I will use statistics from the Central Statistics Office, to compare the West of Ireland to Dublin. It should be noted that Connacht's population is roughly 543,000 and Dublin's is 1,270,000, although I will make the appropriate calculations.

   First off homicide. In Dublin, there were 21 homicides in 2015, however in the West alone, there were 4. Even if the areas were of equal population (divide Dublin by 2.5), Dublin's homicide rate is still double that of Connacht's. This can obviously be put down to the lack of organised crime in the West and the serious gang problems in Dublin. So, after the so-called first round it is 1-0 to the Countryside.

   Next, I am going to look at the burglary offences in each area. In the West, there were 1,961 homes burgled compared to 11,601 in Dublin. Dividing Dublin's statistic by 2.5, you still come out with a figure plenty higher than Dublin. This now makes it 2-0.

   Finally, we look at crimes regarding dangerous or negligent acts. In Connacht, there were 1,012, and Dublin had only a mere 1,602. Again, dividing by 2.5, this leaves us with 641. This statistic is dwarfed by the West's total bringing it to 2-1. The increased total by dangerous or negligent acts in Connacht, may be due to farm yard accidents, where safety mightn't be the primary priority.

   In conclusion, the Countryside is, rather unsurprisingly, less crime ridden than Dublin. So, if you would rather be crushed by a hay bale than brutally murdered or burgled than a rural life is for you.

Thank you for reading!