Migrazioni e criminalità : trent'anni dopo

This essay is a homage to F. Ferracuti, who first studied in a systematic way the problem of migrant criminality in Europe. Since the times in which Ferracuti wrote (1970), many changes occurred in the context of migrations, also in the nexus with criminality. According to the authors’ opinion, today we must keep in mind one variable concerning the criminality of migrants: the organisation of criminal groups trafficking in migrants. The hypothesis this work puts forward is that a part of the crimes committed by aliens (mostly clandestine) is closely linked to the trafficking operations and to the exploitation of criminal organisations, which devote themselves to illegal migration. Furthermore, the probability that trafficked people are pushed into parallel criminal circuits in the destination countries (such as prostitution, drug dealing, robbery, begging, black labour) increases with the better organisation of trafficking groups. A new key for reading the relation between migration and criminality must combine the classical theories with a new method which considers migrant criminality as influenced by the involvement of criminal organisations in migrant trafficking activities. In order to better understand the work hypothesis, the essay tries to explain the chain linking migrations to criminality through its rings: traffic-exploitation-induced criminality. Particular focus is given to the Italian situation.