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Immigration and Violent CrimeCitizenship Status and Social DisorganizationBridgewater State College, University of Central Florida, cpolczyn{at}mail.ucf.edu
Shenandoah University, University of Central Florida
University of Central Florida
University of Central Florida With few exceptions, recent investigations have found levels of criminal involvement to be lower among immigrants than among the native born. We extend this line of research by examining arrest data for native-born citizens, citizens born outside the United States, naturalized citizens, and noncitizens in Orange County (Orlando), Florida, for homicide, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. Arrest rates for noncitizens are generally lower than those for the native born and similar to those of naturalized and foreign-born citizens, but their sexual assault rate is the highest of the four groups. The concentration of immigrants has no significant impact on arrest rates for native- and foreign-born citizens at the census-tract level. Additional research is necessary to more fully understand the linkage between immigration and crime, but mounting evidence that the new immigrants to not contribute to elevated crime levels in urban areas should be an important component of policy discussions.
Key Words: immigration homicide violent crime social disorganization
This version was published on August
1, 2009 Homicide Studies, Vol. 13, No. 3,
227-241 (2009) |
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