A new report on migrant crime reveals that migrants on average commit 55 offences for every 100 who attempt to claim asylum in Austria, with some communities significantly more represented in statistics than others.
The Austrian agency of Federal statistics report shows that during the period of 2004 to 2014 almost every other migrant had committed some kind of criminal offence after coming to the country and seeking asylum. Despite the high number of crimes these statistics may be even worse than they first seem, as multiple offences by individuals were not counted.
The majority of the crimes were perpetrated by Algerians, who have been held as responsible for many of the high profile migrant crimes like the mass sexual assaults on New Years Eve in Germany.
Algerians commit a staggering 155 crimes per 100 asylum seekers, with Georgians close behind at 151 per 100, and Nigerians at 129 per 100, reports Kronen Zeitung. Syrians are presently reasonably low on the list at only around 8 per 100, but the Federal statistics agency says that because the study only covers up to 2014 it doesn’t account for the mass influx of Syrians experienced during 2015.
The report also notes 80 percent of the criminals were young men.
While the overall proportion of all crime in Austria committed by what the report identifies as “asylum seekers” was reasonably low — around five percent — during the period of the study they only actually made up less than half a percent of Austria’s total population. So on average, “asylum seekers” were around ten times more likely than the general population to commit crimes.
This significant over representation in the crime statistics for this group will continue to give concern to Austrian police.
The statistics also only counted criminals once, no matter the number of offences they had engaged in. Assuming the statistics are correct suggests one in every two migrants being suspected of crimes. The study did not include whether charges were pressed upon the criminals or whether they were simply released.
Criminology experts have said the cause of the high numbers is because of a “lack of prospects” for young migrant men in Austria. Many say the men take high risks coming to Europe and often find themselves indebted to people smugglers who often have ties to organized crime.