In respect to homicide per 100,000: 50.14 South Africa 21.40 Russia (1999,10.00 Lithuania,_9.94 Estonia,_6.22 Latvia,5.64 U.S.A.,2.94 Spain;_2.86 Finland;_2.84 Northern Ireland,2.72 Czech Republic,2.65 Slovakia,2.58 New Zealand,2.50 Romania,_2.31 Turkey (1999).
USA homicide rate in 1950 was 4.6/100,000 and 5.6 in 2001. During this time there was a relative increase of minorities and the drug plague. Presently, according to the Men's Issues Page and the BLS the lifetime chance for being murdered is 1 in 30 for black males, 1 in 179 for white males, 1 in 132 for black females, and 1 in 495 for white females.
I do believe in most crime statistics (at least for perpetrators) Hispanics are included with whites. IMHO the homicide rate is not really different over a period of 53 years for European whites. The problems seems to be in those countries and racial sub-populations where alcohol and drug use is rampant.
I don't have the source readily at hand but my best recollection suggests that when a perpetrator is known there is a 40% chance he is African-American in spite of AA being only 13% of the population. This even worse than it sounds since almost all AA homicides are done by males between 15 and 35 years of age. The basic problem seems to be drug wars and crimes committed while intoxicated from alcohol or influenced by drugs. In addition, this perpetrator population is characterized by broken homes, poverty and illiteracy.
What the author of the editorial seems to want is another approach. The one we have now is not working. I realize that "lock him up..punish him..throw the key away.. is popular; however, the President and the author of this editorial are both looking for a way to do things better.
Thanks for thinking about this. The problem will not go away.