The criminalization of immigration in Italy: extent of the phenomenon and possible interpretations

Abstract

This article investigates the relationship between immigration and crime inItaly. Although the number of crimes seems to be in constant decline, inItalythe social debate about the threat to law and order posed by immigrants still rages. While public initiatives to encourage the social integration of immigrants are practically nonexistent, policing of these groups has been redoubled leading to a rapid increase in incarceration rates. This article provides a critical interpretation of this process, seen as an instrument available to the political and financial elite inItalyto legitimize themselves in a period of crisis in the labour market and in a society where there are serious inequalities in the distribution of wealth.