ABSTRACT
This chapter provides summary of research and statistics on migrants and crime, with particular reference to Australia. It presents description and analysis of currently available statistical information and Methods to advance knowledge on the subject. Unravelling the relationship between migration and crime requires the examination of the incidence of crime in all its forms, the processes of the criminal justice system, and the causes and conditions affecting the migrant communities adversely. Estimates from Crime Victimisation surveys indicate that a majority of victims do not report incidents of victimisation to the police. Every five years the Australian Census of Population and Housing provides valuable details on socioeconomic background of the Australian population. Ethnicity and crime statistics will be useful only if other demographic, social and economic statistics for migrant groups are collected. The major investigation into the involvement of migrants in crime in Australia commenced in the 1950s when the Minister for Immigration established the Committee to investigate Conduct of Migrants.
