Minorities, Crime, and Criminal Justice in the Federal Republic of Germany (From Minorities, Migrants, and Crime: Diversity and Similarity Across Europe and the United States, P 86-109, 1997, Ineke Haen Marshall, ed. - See NCJ-171072)

• NCJ Number: 171076
• Author(s): H-J Albrecht
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 24 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Type: Literature Review
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Research findings on minorities, crime, victimization, and criminal justice in Germany are discussed.

Abstract

This research has resulted mainly from the so-called guest workers who came to Germany from southern European countries in the early 1960s. Over the next 20 years, major changes in the ethnic composition of immigrants, the motivation for migration, and the perception of migration caused attention to shift to ethnic and racial immigrant minorities. Strong belief patterns concerning the potential of conflicts and instability associated with immigration and the stranger link migration or minority status, crime, and deviance. The media reflect these links. However, ethnic and foreign minorities do not cause exceptional crime problems and do not pose dangers to safety. Crime among ethnic minorities reflects marginalization and structural problems in society. More research is needed on victimization among ethnic minorities, because victimization rates are higher in these groups, and the effects of victimization are hindered by their marginal position. In addition, migrating groups and participants in the underground economy should be considered from the perspective of migration or economics rather than from a minority perspective. Figures, notes, and 75 references