The thing to keep in mind is that America isn't as homogeneous as a European country, it's as diverse as the entire European continent. Would you say that Denmark is a dreadful mess because of the crime rate in Serbia? Probably not.
People have no clue how large and diverse the place is and are always generalizing.
and I have very rarely come across police misbehaving the way I read here or even come across violent street crimes. I am sure it occurs though as the films love portraying the extreme scenarios but the ordinary person isn't scared for his/her life or safety.
For example New Hampshire has a murder rate much lower than Serbia, England, or France. It is more on lines with Germany.
Also, everyone collects murder states differently. The US usually publishes states from the FBI, whose logic is basically "there is a dead body and it looks like someone else did it". The UK, on the other hand, has the Home Office publish murder rates in terms of convictions, which necessarily will be less than the number of bodies.
(http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/neighborhoods/crime-rates/t...)
So, I'm thinking, branchless' thought process probably goes something like this... "If Chicago is this bad with crime and corruption... what must the rest of the US be like???"
Having mentioned that, other people are correct as well to point out that not ALL places will have the same level of corruption. Many, many places have far more corruption and crime than Chicago. And many, many places have far less corruption and crime than Chicago. But if you are from Western Europe, the mean level of corruption here in the US may be discomfiting to you.
http://www.vox.com/2014/6/29/5850100/chicago-brought-its-mur...
But why stop at the title?
> they find evidence that while Chicago reported 414 murders in 2013 they really had at least 432 through what, if you read the article (and you should) looks like pretty deliberate malfeasance.
> For example, Patrick Walker was found injured and unresponsive in a crashed automobile, taken to a hospital where he died, then during an autopsy they found a gunshot wound in his head and a bullet casing in the back seat of the car. Owing to the fact that he was clearly shot and killed, this was filed on his death certificate as a murder. But the Chicago Police Department has classified the case as a death investigation, making it disappear from their stats.
It's Chicago HEIGHTS, IL.
Different city.
And EAST Chicago, IN.
Different STATE.
You have to be careful when you read these lists. For instance, there are a lot of Pine Bluffs in the United States, so you want to be sure that you talk about the right one when discussing murder rates.
But even if you only count the murder rate...
Chicago... the Chicago that we're discussing on this thread... would not make the list of the top 30 as is plainly evident.
there are far, far worse places than Chicago in the US. Lots of them. And there are far, far better places than Chicago in the US. Lots of them.