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Organized Crime, Corruption and Crime Prevention pp 283–292Cite as

The Paradoxes of Social Research: Immigration and Criminality in Italy

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Abstract

This article examines the theme of “immigration and criminality” in Italy from an alternative point of view than the one usually considered in specialist literature. Instead of focusing attention on the greater or lower involvement in crime by foreigners as compared to natives, this article analyses, from the standpoint of applied research, two “schools” in the 20th century sociological tradition: one with a positivist orientation, and the other from social constructivism. The comparison between these two perspectives brings to light the aporias and controversies that fuel the scientific debate on the link, presumed or real, between immigration and criminality in Italy.

A new Percival, science never derived from the observation of its own limits the idea of never being able to capture the Holy Grail, but instead an optimistic projection toward tomorrow.

Franco Cassano (Il gioco della scienza, 1989)

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This article is an abridged and partially different version of a report presented at a 2011 conference held in Prato, Tuscany; the proceedings of this conference will be published in Italian sometime in 2013.

  2. 2.

    The first systematic study using self-reporting was done by Short and Nye (1957) and the first surveys of victimization were designed in the US in the early 1970s during the administration of President Lyndon Johnson (Killias 1991).

  3. 3.

    According to a recent article from the “Italia-Razzismo” Association, 600,000 work permits were not renewed for foreign subordinate workers over the course of 2011 (Manconi L., Brinis V., Calderono V., Se il titolare è uno straniero l’azienda non conosce crisi, “l’Unità”, 8 September 2012).

  4. 4.

    In this regard, we limit ourselves to hypothesizing other elements that could account for the involvement of foreigners in criminality. Any deeper examination of this question goes beyond the scope of this contribution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Florence, Via Laura, 48–50121, Firenze, Italy

    Stefano Becucci

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  1. Stefano Becucci
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Correspondence to Stefano Becucci .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. TRANSCRIME, U. Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy

    Stefano Caneppele

  2. TRANSCRIME, U. Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano, Italy

    Francesco Calderoni

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Becucci, S. (2014). The Paradoxes of Social Research: Immigration and Criminality in Italy. In: Caneppele, S., Calderoni, F. (eds) Organized Crime, Corruption and Crime Prevention. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01839-3_32

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