Immigration and crime: Norway. Are immigrants over-represented among criminals in Norway? Why?
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Summary: Immigrants are overrepresented in Norwegian prisons, especially among those physically incarcerated and not under electronic monitoring. 23.1% of those in Norwegian prisons lacked Norwegian citizenship, compared to 11.1% of the general population (17.5% of men aged 20-49). Treating "immigrants" as a single group is misleading, as crime rates vary widely by origin group. Immigrants from Western countries are underrepresented in crime, while non-Western immigrants are significantly overrepresented. Among males aged 15-24, immigrants are generally overrepresented in violent crime and abuse, showing that the difference is not solely due to age/gender composition. Differences in crime rates persist from first-generation immigrants to their descendants, with rates for descendants tending to be slightly higher. Young men of Somali descent have about 8 times the rate of violent/abusive crime than young Norwegian men, and the difference is even greater in Oslo. The same immigrant groups tend to have high or low crime rates in Scandinavian countries (e.g., similar patterns in Norway and Finland). Between 2020 and 2023, immigrants accounted for 15.2% of residents, but 21.7% of criminal charges against residents. Immigrants accounted for 26.3% of violent crime charges and 31% of murder/attempted murder charges among residents. Immigrants accounted for 50% of residents charged with intimate partner abuse and 62% of violent abuse cases, and victimization data indicate particularly high victimization of immigrant children. Non-residents (e.g., short-term residents, asylum seekers, illegally residing in Norway) accounted for more than 40% of those accused of certain profit crimes, such as violent theft and smuggling, which is consistent with criminals who come to Norway to commit crimes. Adjusting for age and gender reduces the disparity between immigrants and the native-born, but immigrants are still moderately overrepresented in most types of crime, especially violent and profit-motivated crimes. Controlling for socioeconomic factors (income, employment, place of residence) only slightly reduces disparities and there are still large differences between groups, with no solid evidence presented that socioeconomic differences cause differences in crime.

Immigration Race mixing Violence Violence against women Sexual violence Negroes Arabs Economy

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