NCJ Number
220173
Date Published
2007
Length
64 pages
Annotation
This chapter presents an overview of the research on links between migration and crime in the Netherlands.
Abstract
Two lines of research on this topic are distinguished. The first consists of research on immigrants with strong residence and citizenship status. This involves research on crime patterns among the largest immigrant groups in Dutch society (Turks, Moroccans, Surinamese, and Antilleans). These groups trace their presence in the Netherlands to the Dutch colonial past and the period in the 1960s when the Netherlands actively recruited guest laborers from the Mediterranean region. Dutch police statistics show that, on average, males in migrant groups are suspected of having been involved in crime two and one-half times more than males in the native population. The rate for females with an immigrant background is almost three times higher than for native females. The second line of research addresses "new" groups of immigrants with a weaker residence status, such as asylum seekers and illegal immigrants. This line of research reflects the increasing plurality and fragmentation of the categories of migrants. The Netherlands has experienced an influx of asylum seekers from Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa. These groups are more involved in certain types of crime than the native population. There are two policy implications from the research on migration and crime. First, the socioeconomic integration of legal migrants must be accelerated and improved, with attention to improving the educational and labor market opportunities of these groups. Second, the government must rethink some of its restrictive policies, because of the effects it produces on some types of crime; for example, the expansion of labor migration programs (temporary as well as permanent) would enable some illegal laborers to reside in the country and work legally. 10 tables and 41 references