Immigration and Crime: Is the Relationship Nonlinear?

Abstract

Abstract Research finds that immigration and crime are not related across neighbourhoods, contrary to social disorganization theory and consistent with the immigration revitalization thesis. This research, however, is largely silent as to any possible nonlinear effects. Yet social theory offers sound reasons for why the immigration–crime association may be nonlinear; explanations, including immigrant/ethnic enclave theory and immigrant victimization theory, underscore potential concentration effects—albeit in different ways. Using a novel dataset with information on crime in over 15,000 neighbourhoods across a diverse range of US cities, we examine whether or not the immigration–crime association is nonlinear. We find that for both violent and property crime, a nonlinear relationship best captures the relationship. In additional analyses, we determine the theoretical perspective with which the findings are most consistent.