If you compare middle-class american US suburbs (and remove the ghettos, mexican barrios from the equations which unfairly skew the numbers) -- you'll actually find that American cities are SAFER than Toronto, Vancouver, etc.
Gotta compare apples to apples here. I'd feel much safer in Brentwood or Aspen or Duluth, Minnesota than Toronto or Hamilton.
One thing i've noticed is that when canadians compare themselves to the US -- they immediately start conjuring up images of Compton or South Central LA.....
So -- Let's be fair here for a second -- and start comparing Canada's crime rate the other 99% of the US where the rest of us americans live. The comparison changes drastically now.
I believe something like 70% of felony crimes in the US are commited over 10% of the populated geographic region.