An analysis on public order crimes committed by irregular migrants and individuals under temporary protection in the gendarmerie responsibility area

Individuals have continuously migrated since their existence in order to establish a more prosperous life, to ensure their economic competence and to live in a safer environment under the influence of various factors. However, the phenomenon of migration is not only a physical movement. It brings about significant social and cultural changes in both the individuals who migrate and the communities to which they migrate. Since individuals are the most affected in the migration process, their adaptation to the new society is not easy. Individuals try to live in their new societies, bringing with them their traditions, values and norms that reflect their identities. This feature of the migration process leads to an increase in the level of incompatibility of individuals with their new societies and slow integration. This leads to isolation, exclusion and labeling of migrants. The prolonged integration process may lead individuals to display deviant or criminal behaviors. In this context, the chaos and turmoil in the Middle East region since 2011 has led to mass migration, especially of individuals living in Syria. However, individuals living in South East Asia and Africa continued to migrate to Turkey for economic, political and security reasons. Since both groups of migrants do not see Turkey as a transit country but rather as a destination country, they have caused significant social, economic and security problems in the country. Based on this basic framework, the public order crimes committed by irregular migrants and Syrians under temporary protection status in the area of responsibility of the Gendarmerie General Command between 2012-2021 were analyzed. The reflection of the crimes committed on public order crime data, the factors at the source of the crimes and their effects on the society were analyzed in line with cultural characteristics and social structure elements. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that immigrant groups do not have very high crime rates as perceived in the society. However, it should be noted that the amount of public order crimes committed by both groups has been on an upward trend over the years. In addition, it has been found that Syrians under temporary protection commit economic-based crimes in order to maintain and gain economic competence. It has also been determined that they commit violent crimes due to the tensions caused by economic insufficiency. On the other hand, it has been determined that irregular migrants from South East Asian countries are more associated with sexual crimes due to cultural factors. In line with these results, recommendations have been made for the implementation of community-oriented and broken windows-based law enforcement strategies and compStat-type analyses in order to stop and reduce the increase in crime rates.