Mathematically challenged! Per capita rates anyone?

[Liane]

OK, I admit that my math skills leave a lot to be desired ... but does anyone here know how to figure out a per capita relationship.

For instance if trying to figure out a crime rate over a 7 year period. If there are 16 murders in 7 years in an area with a population of around 23,000, what would the "per capita" rate be and what mathematical calculation do you use to fugure it out?

[stajer]

16 divided by 7 = 2.28 murders per year

2.28 murders divided by 23,000 people = .0000993 murders per capita per year [statistically zero - no one was murdered at all - it was all in their head]

[akmac]

That's not that low though-is it? 1 per 10,000 people (roughly) per year?

[Liane]

Thanks stajer! Yep ... that looks about right! Many thanks. :)

[MatthewHSE]

I don't know about anyone else, but 1 out of 10,000 makes the murder rate higher than I'd like to live with! ;)

Although I suppose living with it is better than dying with it...

[RonPK]

I found this 1998 BBC chart [news.bbc.co.uk]. 1 per 10,000 puts you on the Lisbon level - way below Washington DC but still above Belfast.

[willybfriendly]

1 per 10,000 puts you on the Lisbon level - way below Washington DC

I recently read that in the past year there were more murders in Washington DC than combat deaths in Iraq. The writer concluded that the US Government should pull out of Washington DC :)

WBF

[stajer]

I live in Oakland, CA where we just passed 100 murders this calendar year - the highest rate since the big gang days of the late eighties, early nineties. With around 1,000,000 people, that puts us a 1/10,000 so far this year - but 4 months to go!

[Wlauzon]

I recently read that in the past year there were more murders in Washington DC than combat deaths in Iraq. The writer concluded that the US Government should pull out of Washington DC :)

Some pundit noted a while back that the crime rate in DC dropped 50% when congress was out of session...