In a country with one of the lowest murder rates in the world, the killing of a 20-year-old woman upended the nation’s sense of itself.

Quote:With a small, mostly homogenous population of 340,000 and a high degree of economic equality, Iceland is one of the world’s safest nations. It is the only Nato member without a standing army. Gun ownership is high – there are estimated 90,000 firearms in civilian hands – but the weapons are purchased for hunting rather than self-defence, and very seldom misused. Violent crime is rare.

Quote:Between 2000 and 2015 there were an average of just 1.6 murders a year, with most of the perpetrators and victims young men known to each other. In 2008, there were no homicides at all. Police are not armed, and the Reykjavík force’s Instagram feed shows officers eating ice-cream, sledding and posing for selfies. The feeling of security is bolstered by Icelanders’ tendency to look out for one another, a tradition that dates back to times when close collaboration was essential to make it through the long, brutal winters

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/ap...ok-iceland