(Previously in Swedish on this webbsite 2016)

Discussions about racial and crime are as usual under discussion. There is no doubt that immigrants are generally over-represented in crime statistics. This can be explained in different ways, for example that people from some cultures are more likely to commit crimes or in terms of different genetic dispositions. These reasoning is relatively easy to puncture with emperi. Most of the over-representation of immigrants in crime statistics can be explained by socio-economic factors, immigrants are simply poorer, which explains a large part of the overrepresentation. In an article in the newspaper Dagens Nyheter on April 27 (2016), criminologist Jerzy Sarnetski discusses this. Regardless of the explanation for the immigrants’ higher crime rates, however, this does not affect the total crime rate in Sweden.

However, there is one ethnic group whose over-representation in crime statistics significantly affects the overall level of crime. These are men (men differ from females significantly more than immigrants are different from Swedes). Men, regardless of which countries or cultures they come from, are vastly overrepresented in crime statistics, when compared to women. Men account for about 80 percent of all crimes and in the case of little more serious crime, the men’s share is even higher. This overrepresentation is far more interesting and relevant than the overrepresentation of immigrants. The difference between men’s and women’s crime can only be explained by gender. If we could reduce men’s over-representation in crime, this would have a dramatic impact on the general crime rate in society and thus significantly affect everyone’s quality of life. In addition, this would mean that the large expenditure we currently use for law enforcement, correctional services and more could be used for other important things in society.