Immigration and Crime: Is the Relationship Nonlinear?

Research finds that immigration and crime are not related across neighbourhoods, contrary to social disorganization theory and consistent with the immigration revitalization thesis. This research, however, is largely silent as to any possible nonlinear effects. Yet social theory offers sound reasons...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kubrin, Charis Elizabeth (Author)
Contributors: Luo, Xiaoshuang Iris ; Hipp, John R.
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2025
In: The British journal of criminology
Year: 2025, Volume: 65, Issue: 2, Pages: 365-386
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Keywords:
Immigration
Crime
Neighbourhoods
enclave
Victimization
nonlinear
Description
Summary:Research finds that immigration and crime are not related across neighbourhoods, contrary to social disorganization theory and consistent with the immigration revitalization thesis. This research, however, is largely silent as to any possible nonlinear effects. Yet social theory offers sound reasons for why the immigration-crime association may be nonlinear; explanations, including immigrant/ethnic enclave theory and immigrant victimization theory, underscore potential concentration effects—albeit in different ways. Using a novel dataset with information on crime in over 15,000 neighbourhoods across a diverse range of US cities, we examine whether or not the immigration-crime association is nonlinear. We find that for both violent and property crime, a nonlinear relationship best captures the relationship. In additional analyses, we determine the theoretical perspective with which the findings are most consistent.
ISSN:1464-3529
DOI:10.1093/bjc/azae045