Guns itself has minimal impact on overall crime though it does influance the type of crime and plays a role in whether victims have effective options or are less capable against the typically stronger younger and more physically fit violent attacker. In places with lots of guns there is some statistics that show more property crime happens and less violent crime happens. In England for example home invasions compared to other crimes happen at a relatively high rate, while in the US burglars do all they can to avoid confronting home owners most of the time.
The biggest difference in many places with low crime is a homegenous population. That lack of massive diversity. Extreme diversity in culture, views, and allowance of various subcultures to openly exist like our own hip-hop thug culture, has a big impact on crime.
The US also in spite of official statistics has had a really low murder rate outside of gangs, gangs primarily made up of people that choose to be part of the lifestyle.
The vast majority of murders as a result has been young black and hispanic men taking part in the gang culture, and some of thier unfortunate family and friends in and around those involved in that culture.
This is known because the FBI has kept racial statistics on homicide, and that is the segment of that population primarily murdered or murdering.
'White' murders and by extension murders of those not white living the more standard lifestyle have been going down since 1980, constantly.
The uptick in the 90s in the overall rate was almost entirely gangs, the white rate was still going down.
What this says is the US is very safe overall if you removed people choosing to be part of a gang culture or criminal element from the statistics. No matter what ethnicity, if people choose to not be part of a subculture that promotes violence and masculinity through fighting with enemy gang members, along with drug use and exploitation of women and thier society in general, then you will typically be much safer and have a better place.
If on the other hand you like violence for the sake of violence, drugs, dealing drugs, or various percieved or real benefits of being part of a self proclaimed tough guy group that starts problems with others, you have a high rate of dying from homicide.
Mass shootings on the other hand as we are being bombarded by the media about are a different problem, and overall are a very small percentage of homicides, and have different issues to address than the typical rate.
