Norway beats-out Ireland for drug crime title?!

TomF

I was surprised, to say the least, when I read this newspaper article saying that Norway has the most drug-related crime. I thought we in Ireland had the title safely in our pocket.

"Norway 'world leader' in drug related crime
Norway has the most drug-related crimes per capita in the world, according to information from international statistics database NationMaster.

Norway had nearly 1,000 drug crimes per 100,000 residents, compared to 560 for the USA and 350 for Sweden, newspaper VG reports."
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1032971.ece

Victor

You really have it in for Norway, don't you?

Do the figures factor in that at least half of all crime (and probably 95%+ of minor offences) go unrecorded in Ireland?

TomF

Actually, I think Norway is a wonderful place. I was there in 1974 for a month around Midsummers Day and thought it was spectacular. Of course the prices of everything were spectacular, too. I was taken by the Norwegians running-up the national flag on Sundays, the vast numbers of sailboats in Oslo harbour, the Viking ship on Bigdoy (spelling might be off), the combination sheets and down-filled blanket on the beds and the sun up at 2 in the morning. The oil boom was on and Stavanger was teeming with oil company men, but no one hired me. I had taken a ferry from Belfast to Liverpool, a train across England to Newcastle then a ship to Stavanger (almost didn't get off there and could have gone on to Bergen if I hadn't), then hung around Stavanger for a while before catching a plane across the mountains and glaciers to Oslo. Then bussed and trained another long journey to my destination. I ended-up broke and had to send home for an infusion of money to get back.

bonkey

TomF wrote:

Of course the prices of everything were spectacular, too.

Was that from an "I'm a foreigner comparing your domestic prices to my foreign salary", by any chance?

Every time I have visitors over here in Switzerland, they say more or less the same stuff about how expensive everything is over here (and it is).

Of course, I did have someone tell me only recently that if I wanted to get an equivalent job back in Ireland to mine here, I'd more-than-likely be facing a 30%-40% pay cut.

Its the same thing here - a single set of numbers don't give you the full picture.

Not only that, but you seem to have missed the bit where it was noted :

...that it is difficult to compare statistics internationally. Other nations have different criteria for the statistics they supply and laws pertaining to drug related crime are not the same from country to country.

I mean...you did miss it right? Because that combined with the putting of World Leader in quotes in the title would immediately make me question the validity of the conclusion you seem to have reached.

As for thinking Ireland is a world-leader in drug-related crime....is this just a feeling you have, or is there any basis on which it is founded?

bonkey

Just on a further note. A quick google would seem to suggest that possession is a crime in Norway (since 1984 - before that it was a misdemeanour). Unless I'm mistaken, its a misdemeanour in Ireland.

So straight away, one would have to ask whether or not the crime figures are directly comparable, if what constitutes a crime differs....but that would appear to be what is happening here.

jc

Meh

TomF wrote:

I was surprised, to say the least, when I read this newspaper article saying that Norway has the most drug-related crime. I thought we in Ireland had the title safely in our pocket.

That's a ludicrous assertion. Do you think that drug crime here is worse than, for example, Colombia?

uberwolf

TomF - is there anything you wish to discuss other than your surprise?

I'll leave this open for a little longer to see if a discussion develops.

TomF

Well, I suppose the Aftenposten (a Norwegian newspaper, please note) may enjoy stirring the pot in Norway just as the newspapers here enjoy making comments that Cork is Europe's capitol of drug importation and that sort of thing. I agree that with less than careful handling of crime figures from different societies having different laws, it is possible to paint a very black comparison of one society (Norway) vs. others (the rest of the world).