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Violent crimes occur when a perpetrator uses harmful force upon a victim, and includes things like murder, battery, assault, kidnapping, rape and manslaughter. These crimes not only include those where the violent act itself is the offender's objective, but also violent acts that happen in the commission of another act; like during a robbery.

It's difficult to compare violent crime rates around the globe, as many countries have different standards for what constitutes a violent crime as well as different methods of reporting. However, when looking at similar western countries, the United States has a relatively very high violent crime rate. In 2018, for example, United Nations data showed that the homicide rate in the U.S. was 4.96 per 100,000 people, compared to Spain, which had a rate of .62, France with a rate of 1.2, Germany with a rate of .95, Canada with a rate of 1.76 and Australia with a homicide rate of .89.