Abstract
In this book Solivetti considers the immigration and crime rates from 18 Western European countries and provides well-evidenced analyses in reference to a contentious political topic. The book is divided into six well-organized chapters, and provides compelling reading for criminology, sociology and politics scholars.
The economic downturn and concomitant surge in anti-immigration sentiment across the European Union (EU) make it an apposite time to review Solivetti’s book Immigration, Social Integration and Crime. There have been various micro/macro-level studies conducted in this field. However, as Solivetti states, the studies were conducted by different authors from different countries, hence there is a low level of homogeneity between these studies (p. 42). The strength of the research reported in this book is the use of homogenous parameters across data from EU countries, making it the single largest macro-level study conducted on non-national criminality.
Immigration and crime are inextricably connected in the popular imagination and academic debates surrounding this issue date back more than a century. In the initial chapters, Solivetti revisits and summarizes past academic literature. Sociological theories that suggest immigration may increase crime, such as those addressing opportunity structure, criminal subcultures, social disorganization and relative deprivation are considered as ‘plausible’, as Solivetti argues that hostile xenophobic attitudes, racial discrimination and lack of justice and fairness could create a climate unfavourable to integration, and result in a greater propensity to criminality (p. 41). The analysis in this book, therefore, extends beyond the immigrant side of the equation and includes the host society as a fundamental parameter. Thorough and systematic exploration of empirical and theoretical evidence makes these chapters interesting and thought provoking. After reviewing the literature, Chapters 4–6 present a description of the analysis concerning non-national criminality, prison rates, socio-economic conditions and integration.
The robust analysis reveals some important insights. For example, while homicide in Switzerland has declined since the 1990s (the rate per population is one of the ‘lowest’ in Europe), the percentage of non-nationals committing this crime increased to approximately 60 per cent, and a similar growth has being noted for other crimes. Such trends have given rise to ‘popular punitivism’ (p. 119) and the adoption of harsh policy measures against foreign criminals. The recent political campaign of the Swiss People’s Party adopted discourses that openly discriminated against non-EU nationals. They called for measures such as the mandatory deportation of non-EU criminals with no right to appeal; a measure which was enacted in 2010 after 52.9 per cent of voters supported the referendum. Thus, non-EU criminals suffer a double punishment which EU criminals cannot, because of their free movement rights (Fekete and Weber, 2010). This highlights the misuse of crime and immigration data to support the on-going development of programmes dominated by an agenda of open hostility to non-EU immigrants (p. 59), and raises several pertinent questions regarding the arbitrariness of the justice system, effectiveness of social integration measures and adherence to human rights principles.
While considering crime in other countries, Solivetti argues that overall increases in the number of non-nationals across the EU has not corresponded with any significant increase in serious crime. Despite this, when compared to their share of the total resident population, the data on incarceration suggested a ‘disturbing’ over-representation and a sharp increase in non-nationals being imprisoned (p. 120). Solivetti suggests that such an increase should be considered as an indicator of incrimination, as opposed to an indicator of criminality (p. 125). In later chapters, different models of interaction between immigration and criminality are discussed. In some countries the contribution of non-nationals to crime grew at a similar rate to that of nationals. In other countries the proportionate share of crime by nationals declined and was substituted by a rise in crime by non-nationals, thus stabilizing or decreasing overall rates of crime. In a minority of cases an increase in crime was associated solely with a growth in the contribution of non-nationals. Such variations suggest that crime patterns follow a logic that is specific to the individual country rather than there being an obvious association between increases in the rate of immigration with criminality (p. 166).
In conclusion, this well-written book makes an original methodological and theoretical contribution to the field. Solivetti looks beneath demographic trends to answer difficult questions about offending by immigrants and the social integration of non-nationals, with a particular focus on non-EU citizens (p. 150). The detailed analysis concludes that alleviating poverty and having respect for civil rights and the rule of law, coupled with tolerance and openness by the host society, will potentially block the routes through which immigrants become involved in penal and penitentiary circuits (p. 172).