Immigrants as Victims of Crime

Abstract

The present paper is a review of the empirical research done on crime victimisation and anxieties about crime among immigrants and native Swedes. Immigrants more often than native Swedes have been a victim of personal crimes, whereas no differences worth mentioning are found regarding victimisation through property crimes. Immigrants more often than native Swedes are afraid of being victimised in various social contexts. Thereby, immigrants with a non-European appearance are more often a victim of personal crimes than are other immigrants. They also feel less safe in various everyday contexts. The relative impact of social background factors on crime victimisation and fear ‘of crime is discussed. Swedish victim surveys are few in number and the present knowledge of crime victimisation and fear of crime in different ethnic groups is superficial. It is pointed out that more systematic research is needed.