Disagree completely, and this is because of different methods of definition, of reporting, of taking forward legally, and of conviction. See, as just one example:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_in_Sweden
The problem with this is that crime is off-the-scale in the US with extremely high rates of incarceration, whereas where sentencing isn't more lenient -- eg Scandi countries -- crime levels are very low.
A question: if you knew it was counter-productive (ie it would lead to more knife-carrying...
Yes, this ^.
My experience wasn't as bad as 40 mins but, pretty sure they've closed off Queens Road, and that just means that there's a lot of traffic surrounding that going very slow.