An anonymous reader of my blog left a comment (https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1260042053010871651&postID=6683609696160209956) on my Swiss post (http://www.quasijetset.com/2007/09/end-of-era.html), accusing me of misleading readers, and provided evidence for his claims. And I must say, on first glance the evidence is quite damning, with a disproportionate number of wanted criminals in the U.K. being from foreign countries. But a deeper read shows many of these crimes against other immigrants rather than the native populace and the evidence is the "outstanding" criminal lists, one would presume it is easier to escape if you came from abroad in the first place. The links provided by the commentor were also a bit suspect, leading to extreme-right wing organizations. Further, he /she completely missed the content and intent of my post (for example I support efficient legal immigration rather than illegal immigration) . All that said, he did raise a valid question - do immigrants bring more crime into a native country for whatever mitigating reasons? An arm-chair search immediately brought up the following quote:
"In the 1980s and 1990s researchers have concluded, or at least have lent support to the conclusion, that immigrants commit proportionately no more than and possibly even fewer crimes than native-born citizens. The General Accounting Office, analyzing FBI records, found that foreign-born individuals accounted for about 19 percent of the total arrests in 1985 in six selected major cities.8 The foreign-born represented 19.6 percent of the aggregate population. While "foreign-born" can mean refer to citizens as well as aliens,9 the study makes an implicit case that immigrant crime is in line with the rest of the country. "
Source: http://www.cis.org/articles/2001/crime/toc.html#fear
However, Europe is a different ball game, and with the exception of the few countries, is not used to assimilate large numbers of people. This mis-match of cultures, comprehensive welfare systems, jostling for rights, and people trying to adjust is a perfect foundation for friction. It is too much of a stretch to suppose that illegal (and many legal immigrants) are more likely to be on hard times without proper support structures and wander / dabble into crime? Certainly there are studies which "co-relate" increased homicide rates with immigration rates (Note: Co-relation is NOT causation, for example you can co-relate the fall in the number of pirates to increase in global warming (See: Flying Spaghetti Monster)). On the other hand arguments can be made that immigrants lose out in the justice system due to prejudices and inability to properly defend themselves (language, monitory resources) etc. For example in America it would be akin to "The Black Man Did it" defense.
I'm going to go silent now, until I find some more reliable data on this.
If you have the time:
Immigrant Danger? Immigration and Increased Crime in Europe - Keith D. Hiatt - University of California, Berkeley
http://repositories.cdlib.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1147&context=iir
INTEGRATION OF THE IMMIGRANT POPULATION IN EUROPEAN CAPITALS - Report for the XLIII General Assembly of the UCEU
http://www.ucue.org/Assemblees/Resume%202003%20EN.pdf
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Response to Comment - Crime and Immigration
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