We explore the relation between immigration, crime, and local government spending on security in Italian municipalities. We find that immigration increases the share of public resources devoted to police protection, particularly when migrants are culturally distant from the native population. We uncover a misalignment between perception and reality, as immigration is associated to fear of future crimes rather than the actual probability of being victim of a crime. We also demonstrate that immigration from culturally distant societies corresponds to a deterioration in civic cooperation and interpersonal trust, which can affect perceptions of safety and the demand for police services.

中文翻译：

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移民、犯罪恐惧和公共安全支出

我们探讨了移民、犯罪和当地政府在意大利城市安全方面的支出之间的关系。我们发现移民增加了用于警察保护的公共资源的份额，尤其是当移民在文化上与当地人口相距甚远时。我们发现感知与现实之间存在偏差，因为移民与对未来犯罪的恐惧有关，而不是与成为犯罪受害者的实际可能性有关。我们还证明，来自文化相距遥远的社会的移民与公民合作和人际信任的恶化相对应，这会影响人们对安全的看法和对警察服务的需求。