My lack of info on this irks me so I've been searching the web for the last half-hour. The best info I've found so far is from a US Gov source at:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cjusew96.htm
From all sources there, rates of crime in 1995 (last yr available):
Murder: US 5.7 times higher than England/Wales
Rape: US 3 times higher than England/Wales
Robbery: E/W 1.4 times higher than US
Assault: E/W 2.3 times higher than US
Burglary: E/W 2.3 times higher than US
Vehicle theft: E/W 2.2 times higher than US
Look at it another way: out of a million people in each country...
In the US, 74 will be murdered. In E/W, 13.
In the US, 71 will be raped. In E/W, 22.
In the US, 5,300 will be robbed. In E/W, 7,600.
In the US, 8,800 will be assaulted. In E/W, 20,000.
In the US, 47,000 will be burgled. In E/W, 82,900.
In the US, 10,800 will have their car stolen. In E/W, 23,600.
Total US victims: 72,045
Total E/W victims: 134,135
So you are roughly twice as likely to be a violent crime victim in England/Wales than in the US. Of course, being murdered is more serious than any other crime. I was assaulted in 1992, but I got better. (You can't even see the scar.) If I was murdered, I still wouldn't be over it. So draw your own conclusions.