Violent Crime in Canada and the United States: A Theoretical Assessment

Abstract

Introduction The present paper reviews and critically assesses dominant accounts of Canadian-American differences in interpersonal criminal violence. Two major types of accounts are identified. The most popular type of account locates the source of these differentials in cultural distinctions that are thought to separate Canadians from Americans. A second form of explana- tion deemphasizes the importance of culture and focuses attention instead on the study of comparative social structure. In so doing, it offers a critique of the cultural approach. It is argued below that neither cultural nor struc- tural accounts can by themselves provide a satisfactory interpretation of Canadian-American patterns of violent crime. It is also argued that any attempt to refine and integrate structural and cultural accounts necessitates a critical reexamination of some of the basic assumptions made by scholars who have attempted to apply these perspectives to the issue in question. A review of the literature that attempts to inteipret the meaning of differ- ences in Canadian and American patterns in violent crime is preceded by a discussion of the empirical evidence around which the theoretical debate revolves.