Presentation

In the countries where immigration is stronger, whenever there is a crime wave, immigrants are the first ones to be publicly accused, especially in the news that find echo in the media, regardless if there is evidence of guilt or not.

In Portugal, the escalation of violent crimes in recent years has been widely publicized, in correlation with the increase of immigrants.Besides the fact that the designation of violent crimes is not consensual, there are few works focused on this subject.Some even oppose this idea:the most recent North-American studies point exactly to a link between the increase of immigrants and the reduction of violent crimes, instead of what is publicly perceived.

Besides the media contributing to spread feelings of insecurity, based on isolated incidents of major or medium violence connecting immigration and crime, not indicating the typology of non-national citizens incorrectly places them all at the same level.We suggest the individualization of certain types of crime according to the typology of non-national citizens:immigrants, foreigners, “euromigrants” and residents in the European Union, specifying concepts and corresponding differentiation.We present an overview of the national violent crime reality in 2002, 2005 and 2008, and of the changes it has undergone, as a result from a larger number of resident non-national citizens.

In Portugal, there was a distinct increase of the proportion of non-national prisoners in recent years (2002 through 2008), which followed the increase of the non-national resident population; however, we do not find this increase of the number of prisoners especially relevant.After the application of the statistical tests, there were differences which we present and will try to explain in subsequent studies, to be later conducted.

Biographic Note

Maria João Guia holds a Graduate Degree in Modern Languages and Literatures by the University of Coimbra (1994), with specialization in Translation (French/English, with knowledge of Italian, Dutch and Russian languages and cultures), a Post-Graduate Degree in Criminology by the Lusophone University of Lisbon (2003), a Master’s Degree in Sociology of Development and Social Change, integrated in the Programme “National Societies Towards Globalization Processes”, with the master’s thesis “Imigração e Criminalidade – Caleidoscópio de Imigrantes Reclusos”, supervised by Professor Maria Ioannis Baganha, with final classification of Very Good (by unanimity) and published by Livraria Almedina in November, 2008. She holds a Doctoral Degree in “Law, Justice and Citizenship in the 21^stCentury”, concluded in 2008.

Professional teacher for five years (1995-2008), she has developed academic and criminal research activities (Assistant Inspector at SEF), is alternate member of the European Union Experts Group on Trafficking in Human Beings since 2008 (2007/675CE-JO L277 of 20/10/2007) and member of the research group of the project “Without rights: the (limited) citizenship of illegal immigrants and their access to law and justice in the European Union and Portugal” at CES, University of Coimbra (PTDC/CPJ-CPO/098508/2008).

Her fields of interest are mostly focused on immigration, crime, violent criminality, imprisonment, trafficking in human beings, terrorism, criminalization of poverty, access to justice, legal sociology, and citizenship.She has lectured within these fields, as coordinator or participant, at national and international workshops, organized by several institutions like Immigrant Associations, International Congresses (Metropolis and International Congress of Legal Sociology), Portuguese Directorate-General of Prison Service (DGSP), Civil Government of Coimbra, Portuguese Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF), Higher Institute for Work and Corporate Sciences (ISCTE).She received an award with the publication of a posted dedicated to the subject “Immigration and Criminality”, presented at the II National Congress of Criminology – Porto, 2008, is the author of the study “Reclusos Brasileiros – breve caracterização”, available online, and also of the text “As palavras Estrangeiro, Imigração e Criminalidade”, integrated in the compilation of texts “A Força das Palavras”, published by Areias Vivas publisher, in 2009.