Immigration and the Crime Drop: International Perspectives

Explanations of the remarkable decrease in crime over the last two decades across a number of western countries have been in varying degrees unpersuasive. The article presents an exploratory analysis of possible links between immigration into the UK and crime levels. Drawing on a range of international research the paper suggests that in contrast to the popular opinion that increased immigration is associated with an increase in crime, that not only are the recent waves of immigration not statistically linked to increased rates of crime in the UK and elsewhere, but that the proposition that recent waves of immigration may have contributed to the crime drop is tenable. Possible ways of clarifying the issue are suggested.