Immigrants, Crime, and Criminal Justice in Sweden

Abstract

Immigrants generally have higher crime rates than do indigenous Swedes, particularly for violence and theft, and are likelier to be victims of violence. Both first- and second-generation immigrants have higher crime rates than indigenous Swedes, but second-generation immigrants have lower rates than first-generation immigrants-a finding contradicting results in other countries. These lower rates may be a consequence of Swedish social welfare policy. The offending pattern of second-generation immigrants is similar to the pattern of native Swedes. Groups with a high total crime rate in the first generation tend to have a relatively high total crime rate in the second generation and vice versa.