Historically, what were crime stats before guns were ever made?

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After episodes of violence, such as those experienced in the late Roman Republic, Roman elites and emperors responded with legislation that instituted bans on weapons. These laws were directed either at a certain class of people or instituted within a delineated space.

An example of this comes following the Second Servile War, which occurred from 104 to 100 BCE on the island of Sicily. Most of us are familiar with the later occurrence of the third slave revolt of the late Republic, which saw the rise of the famed Thracian gladiator Spartacus. However, it was after the second revolt on the island of Sicily that all slaves appear to have been banned from carrying weapons. Cicero would later note that slaves still were not allowed to carry arms on the island.

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One of the frustrations that comes from studying ancient history is that people always want numbers. Students crave the comfort of data that I cannot usually provide them. This is the case for Roman weapon bans as well. Can I tell you if the murder or violent crime rate went down after these laws? No. But I can say that the reason that the sacred pomerium line existed around the city of Rome was to instill in the Roman people a sense that violence was irreligious and unacceptable in certain spaces. Augustus’ laws tried to reassert and reclaim this belief both within the city and within the empire.

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Life expectancy was in the 30's so...

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Historically, what were crime stats before guns were ever made?

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But here is an historian's article: The ancient Romans debated weapon control

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