Smuggling of human beings in Germany
Project date range: 1997-2004
Funding institution: Federal Ministry of Justice
Description
The study deals with smuggling of human beings, i.e. illegal immigration with the help of persons acting as smugglers. The established knowledge on this offence is mainly based upon findings of the border patrol. As case recording by the police is only the first stage of prosecution in the criminal justice system, the research project tried to find out more by analysing the sentencing practice for human smuggling offences.
The file analysis showed that relevant cases could be divided into three groups. The largest group consisted of cases of immigrants coming predominantly from the former Yugoslavia in 1998. For most of these offences prison sentences were assigned by the courts. The second group was related to the illegal employment of immigrants in Germany, most often construction workers from Eastern Europe. In these cases, mainly fines were imposed on the German employers. The third group was characterised by cases of fictitious marriage, typically between German women and men who lived illegally in Germany. These women mainly faced fines as sanctions.
Methods
Analysis of data of the Federal Central Criminal Register and of 200 criminal case files; expert interviews
Publication
Steinbrenner, Christian (2005). Zur Verurteilungspraxis deutscher Gerichte auf dem Gebiet der Schleuserkriminalität. Wiesbaden: KrimZ. (Kriminologie und Praxis (KuP); Bd. 48)