Anti-video game 'researcher's and politicians are forever using the "fact" that the world is a more violent place and games are a great deal to do with it. Not so it appears from an official set of stats in the UK.
A report from the UK Peace Index (from the international non-profit research organisation Institute for Economics and Peace) states that violent crime, including homicides, have actually fallen in the UK - where age ratings on games and other media combined with educational progress being made by bodies such as Tiga and Ukie.
The report (a PDF of which you can get here) as reported by the Beeb states that, "found the violent crime rate in the UK was down by about one quarter - from 1,255 per 100,000 people in 2003, to 933 in 2012."
The report states that, "This is the fastest decline in violence of any country in Europe... Cross-checking Home Office and Eurostat data against a number of metrics, such as hospital admissions, the UKPI shows that this dramatic fall is not a blip in police reporting - the UK really is becoming more peaceful.
"Reasons for this fall in violence are varied, however one of the more likely reasons, often overlooked, is the substantial improvement in police practices particularly related to the adoption of advanced technologies.
"Other factors which have had an impact in reducing violence include an aging population, decreasing alcohol consumption and, finally, rising real wages, supported by the introduction of the minimum wage."
The problem for anti-video game campaigners, there is no mention of video games use anywhere, either pro or con. Our hobby (or business) is simply not a pertinent factor in actual social violence according to independently audited facts.
A report from the UK Peace Index (from the international non-profit research organisation Institute for Economics and Peace) states that violent crime, including homicides, have actually fallen in the UK - where age ratings on games and other media combined with educational progress being made by bodies such as Tiga and Ukie.
The report (a PDF of which you can get here) as reported by the Beeb states that, "found the violent crime rate in the UK was down by about one quarter - from 1,255 per 100,000 people in 2003, to 933 in 2012."
The report states that, "This is the fastest decline in violence of any country in Europe... Cross-checking Home Office and Eurostat data against a number of metrics, such as hospital admissions, the UKPI shows that this dramatic fall is not a blip in police reporting - the UK really is becoming more peaceful.
"Reasons for this fall in violence are varied, however one of the more likely reasons, often overlooked, is the substantial improvement in police practices particularly related to the adoption of advanced technologies.
"Other factors which have had an impact in reducing violence include an aging population, decreasing alcohol consumption and, finally, rising real wages, supported by the introduction of the minimum wage."
The problem for anti-video game campaigners, there is no mention of video games use anywhere, either pro or con. Our hobby (or business) is simply not a pertinent factor in actual social violence according to independently audited facts.