How the debate about crime committed by foreigners leads to migrants being perceived as dangerous in public opinion, even though most of them behave in accordance with the law and what that does to those affected.
Thick raindrops struggle through gray air, their course changed by branches whipping in an approaching storm. A thin ray of sunlight fights through the cloudy Nordic sky as I carefully peek through the curtains. A scene so rough and yet, if it wasn’t for the window allowing my
glimpse, I would never have known it happened. And I can’t help but think what else happens right beside me, going unnoticed.
I will hopefully never see my loved ones vanish in the distance as I embark on uncertainty; never find myself holding on for dear life in the middle of the sea, fighting for a chance at life. Because I already have one: basics we grew up taking for granted, water, a roof over our heads, to be treated as a human with rights, things seemingly so simple. So easily overlooked, like raindrops struggling down a screen.
While migration is a source of inconvenience and annoyance for some, it saves the lives of others. Taking on misinformation and willfully misconstrued numbers inevitably led us to the wide field of criminology. In an effort to shine a light on the context of crime, we sought out
Prof. Dr. Gina Rosa Wollinger.
Research shows a rising trend in hate crimes as of late. That begs the question if there are consequences of a debate about the possible connection between migration and crime.
“The debate about crime committed by foreigners is highly problematic”, Wollinger says in our interview. “It suggests a relation where there shouldn’t be one: that the status ‘foreigner’ is linked to a – criminal – behavior. But it wouldn’t work the other way around; nobody talks about German culture being at fault for crimes committed by Germans. On the other hand, it gives many people in Germany the message ‘you’re perceived as divergent, you’re more likely suspected’ and that affects one’s sense of belonging.”
“Most migrants in Germany behave with impunity. Keeping that in mind, those messages are risky. Especially when we think about teenagers in precarious situations with a migration status. They often get labeled and are stigmatized as ‘the troubled migrant teen’ – that changes my self-image, the feeling of belonging, what chances are available to me in society and how I’ll behave in it. Someday the end of that process could be: ‘Do I even want to participate in and integrate into society?’ These processes gain more traction through this debate.” Often disregarded, teenagers hold all the more weight in this debate, since they pose the most prominent group amongst suspects committing joint sexual offenses, research shows.
The more we researched, the more we felt that the debate loses sight of the actual causes for crime, or is at least willingly overlooking certain aspects, because how someone becomes a criminal is complex, since it is also defined by current law. For example, until 1994 homosexuality was a punishable offense. And the field of different crime is vast, spanning from financial crimes to burglaries and sexual offenses. So there are many ways to be a criminal… but what determines whose choices air on which side of the law?
“The reason for crime isn’t monocausal and there is no central motif. But there are certain factors that are conductive to the individual type of offense. When it comes to violent crimes a lot depends on one’s own attitude and experiences.” Wollinger explains. “People who themselves experienced violence in their childhood are more likely to have learned to use it, that it is legitimate and that it can be used to resolve conflicts.”
But painting all people with rough childhoods in a criminal light would certainly be too easy – and just as exclusionary in thought as solely focusing on migration status. Wollinger highlights the relation between personal experience, attitude, and life circumstances that can either be a traumatic catalyst or a calming influence. And just as multifaceted as someone’s experience can be, so can their migration background:
“We run into a problem when we talk about the relation between migration and crime: the label ‘migration’ merges many people that were very very differently socialized.” she explains further. And she isn’t wrong: Some of those people were born and raised in Germany but don’t hold German citizenship; some came very fast due to escape without having time to prepare or wanting to come; some people may have fallen in love and intentionally prepared for their new lives, secured Job and Living space.
In the end, our interview with Prof. Dr. Wollinger could only shine so much light in the dark. “The challenge is that we’re dealing with a very heterogeneous group. The label ‘migration background’ is a comparative category in which there is actually no identical characteristic that causes behavior.”
In the end, we still don’t know what exactly predetermines if someone will someday be in conflict with the law. However, we do know that no matter how hard some try to avoid it, no matter how strongly they wish it weren’t so: Germany is multicultural. And just like raindrops
forging their path down a window, we may have more in common than meets the eye.
RESEARCH | ARTICLE © Lea Strenge and Luisa Kuhl, Jade University of Applied Sciences Wilhelmshaven, Germany
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