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Immigrant criminality (foreigner criminality, foreigner delinquency) refers to delinquency perpetrated by non-naturalized residents of foreign origin within a given country.
Allegations of heightened levels of immigrant criminality can serve as a propaganda item in "nativist" opposition to immigration.
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In Europe
The European countries with the highest rate of immigrants are Luxembourg (37%) and Switzerland (23%).[1] The UK with some 9% has a comparatively low overall rate, but immigrants are strongly concentrated in Greater London.[2] The average of immigrant population in the EU is just below 10%.
Germany
In Germany, the conviction rates of foreigners (out 8.8% immigrant population) in Germany were as follows (as of 2006): [3]
| delict | solved | reported | foreigner convicts | in % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| homicide | 95,5 % | 5.889 | 1.457 | 24,7 % | |
| battery | 83,2 % | 159.512 | 38.128 | 23,9 % | |
| rape | 82,9 % | 6.868 | 2037 | 29,7 % | |
| theft | 29,7 % | 536.198 | 111.807 | 20,9 % | |
| Raub, räub. Erpressung | 51,5 % | 33.988 | 9786 | 28,8 % | |
| environmental crime | 57,9 % | 11.859 | 1.507 | 12,7 % |
The Netherlands
In The Netherlands, the high rate of criminality amongst the immigrant population was one of the main reasons behind the success of the late anti-immigration politician Pim Fortuyn and immigration and islam-sceptics Rita Verdonk and Geert Wilders in the early 21st century.
Sweden
Immigrants are overrepresented in Sweden's crime statistics. During the period 1997-2001, 25% of the almost 1,520,000 offences were committed by people born overseas, while almost 20% were committed by Swedish-born people with a foreign background. Those from North Africa and the Middle East were overrepresented. In Sweden, criticism of immigrants criminal activity in the country is often considered racism and xenophobia, and counting on the amount of money criminal immigrants cost the society has been banned with the explanation that "...you cannot calculate the value of human lives".[4]
Switzerland
In Switzerland, 69.7% of prison population had no Swiss citizenship, compared to 22.1% of total resident population (as of 2008). The figure of arrests by residence status is not usually made public. As in 1997 the conviction rate of Swiss citizens fell below 50% for the first time, a special report was compiled by the Federal Department of Justice and Police (published in 2001) which for the year 1998 found an arrest rate per 1000 adult population of 2.3 for Swiss citizens, 4.2 for legally resident aliens and 32 for asylum seekers. 21% of arrests made concerned individuals with no residence status, who were thus either sans papiers or "crime tourists" without any permanent residence in Switzerland.[5]
The term Ausländerkriminalität ("foreigner criminality") since the 1990s has become a politically charged term, with the populist "black sheep" campaign for the "initiative for the extradition of criminal foreigners" of the Swiss People's Party making international headlines in September 2007.
See also
United States:
Other:
References
- ^ 2005 UN estimates, see List of countries by immigrant population, not listing are dwarf states such as Andorra and Monaco.
- ^ see Foreign-born population of the United Kingdom
- ^ Statistisches Bundesamt: Statistisches Jahrbuch 2006
- ^ People with a foreign background behind 45% of Swedish crime
- ^ Ausländerkriminalität in der Schweiz
External links
- Rubén G. Rumbaut; Walter A. Ewing, The Myth of Immigrant Criminality special report for the Immigration Policy Center, 2007.
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