The Historical Background of the Relationship Between Foreign Nationals and Crime: A Case Study of Irish Criminality in the UK

Abstract

Historically, immigrants from different parts of the world were welcomed to Britain and at times even seduced into coming to live and work here. However, when their population increased, or other issues of the time were connected to their presence in the country, political and public concerns began to emerge in relation to demographics, health, the economy and crime.2 This paper will explore the temporal aspects of connecting foreign nationals to different non-immigration criminal offences by tracking the historical role of immigration policy and political debates in immigrant criminality in order to understand the background to this issue, which has predominated on the political discourses and immigration policy changes. The historical journey this article takes will shed some light on the economic and social restrictions placed on foreign nationals’ activities, and the role of public sentiment and media coverage in connecting foreign nationals to non-immigration criminal offences with a special focus on the criminality of the Irish in the UK.