Does the US really have fewer violent crimes per capita than the UK, Austria, Belgium, Holland, and even Sweden? Data reported in the Telegraph say it does (h/t Tom Hanna):
[V]iolent crime in the UK ... increased from 652,974 offences in 1998 to more than 1.15 million crimes in 2007.
It means there are over 2,000 crimes recorded per 100,000 population in the UK, making it the most violent place in Europe.
Austria is second, with a rate of 1,677 per 100,000 people, followed by Sweden, Belgium, Finland and Holland.
By comparison, America has an estimated rate of 466 violent crimes per 100,000 population.
I don't know if it is sloppy reporting or sly cooking of the data, but I see just "crime" in one place and "violent crime" in another. The article does caution about there being different measures in different countries, so be careful about the results here (and in every other cross-national study!).
But if the data correctly represent the situations, perhaps the rush to judgement about the US, violence, and guns is mistaken.