September 29, 2011

Contrary to popular opinion, immigrants do not contribute to crime.

Although Canadians have always viewed immigration as desirable and necessary, the attacks of September 11, 2001 left some doubts. In an international survey of public attitudes published in 2009, Canadians generally had positive feelings about immigrants but more than half blame illegal migrants for driving up crime.

A year earlier, Calgary Conservative MP Lee Richardson reflected that doubt. "Immigrants don't have the same respect for authority or people's person or property… Talk to the police. Look at who is committing these crimes. They're not the kid who grew up next door." He later retracted the comments but he reflected a popular conservative view.

And before that, in another poll of Quebecers, one-third of respondents believed that society was threatened by non-Christian newcomers. Nearly 60 per cent wanted immigrants to follow a "code of conduct," as reported by Rachel Giese in her article for Walrus magazine, Arrival of the Fittest.

Like other myths such as the general growth in crime, the immigrant crime illusion persists in spite of the facts. According to Statistics Canada: "the proportion of recent immigrants lowers the violent crime rate; it acts as a protective factor." Instead, socio-economic factors contribute to crime, not immigration.

The reduction in crime due to immigration is on top of the overall reduction in crime throughout North America. In some cases, such as New York City, the reduction is due to more police. In others, there is less crime because of an aging demographic: there are fewer angry young men to commit crimes. Now middle-aged, their youthful anger has settled into the comfortable chair in front of the TV.

All over North America, crime is less because of immigration. Even as drug wars ravage Mexico, the spillover of Mexicans to bordering U.S. states has had a peaceful effect. Crime levels have actually dropped in U.S. towns along the country's 3,200-kilometre. Remarkably, the violence of Mexico's drug wars hasn't travelled north.

What is it about immigrants that reduce crime? The University of Toronto investigated the connection between immigration and crime over a period of 30 years. The study began in 1976 with a survey of teenagers in Toronto high schools with high immigrant populations. The study came to same conclusions as Statistics Canada. Minor crimes such as drinking, taking drugs, petty theft, vandalism, fighting, and so on were significantly lower in the immigrant-rich groups. Nationality didn't matter.

Children who came to Canada with their parents see the sacrifices they have made. They see their parents struggling to adapt. Their parents may have been a doctors and professionals back home but now they work twelve hours a day as a taxi drivers or janitors. They want to succeed in order to justify the sacrifices.

The second generation is a different matter. Immigrant kids born in Canada were more likely to get into fights, take drugs, vandalize, or steal. But other than being a visible ethnic group, they were no more likely to commit crimes than any Canadians of the same age. The obvious exception is second and third generation kids who get involved in gang wars and shoot-outs over drug turf.

Immigration poses a dilemma for Prime Minister Harper. On one hand, he needs immigrant votes to stay in power. On the other, he needs to satisfy conservative constituents who view immigrants with suspicion. His quandary was demonstrated during the last election. As one of Harper's ministers warned of a Tamil invasion, another was schmoozing with Tamil immigrants from an earlier boatload who Harper had falsely accused of being terrorists. The contradiction was apparently lost on our PM.


David Charbonneau is the owner of Trio Technical.
He can be reached at dcharbonneau13@shaw.ca