There is a direct correlation between the number of immigrants entering the country and the rise in the crime rate, according to a report published Wednesday by the Italian daily, Il Giornale.

In its front page report titled “More Immigrants = More Crime,” the newspaper cited results from a recent study conducted by the Confcommercio group on the statistical connection between crime and immigration.

The report found that in a determined area, if the number of immigrants increases by 1 percent, the crime rate in the same area goes up by 0.4 percent.

Moreover, the study revealed that among Italian citizens there are 4.3 convicted criminals per 1000, while among legal immigrants the rate is nearly double, at 8.5 criminals per 1000. More alarming still, among illegal immigrants the crime rate soars to more than 50 percent (148 criminals out of every 247 persons).

One of the more troubling discoveries of the study was that for the first time, the crime rate in the north of Italy, which has the highest concentration of immigrants and asylum seekers, is surpassing that of the south.

Including loss of revenue, costs for personal injury, insurance and expenses for defense systems, crime has cost Italian businesses 26.5 billion euros in 2016, according to the study. In particular, illegal itinerant vendors account for 8.1 billion, dining in restaurants without paying 5.6 billion, counterfeiting 3.5 billion and shoplifting 3.6 billion, the study noted.

Official data from the National Institute for Statistics (ISTAT) and the Interior Ministry also register an increase in more serious crimes, such as extortion, usury and threats, which increased from 22 crimes per 1000 businesses in 2010 to 24.1 per 1000 in 2015.

According to the study, one Italian business owner out of 10 active in trade and services in 2016 received threats or intimidation for the purpose of extortion, and 61 percent ended up paying rather than face repercussions.

The study, which comprised 900 businesses, found that the most targeted sectors are the food industry (14 percent) and public services (12 percent). More than one in four business owners has reported a deterioration in the security level of their business since last year, a figure that is accentuated particularly in the northeast and the south of the country.

Speaking at a Confcommercio conference this week, Carlo Sangalli, president of the group, said that “counterfeiting, illegal vendors, extortion and robberies have cost Italians 180 thousand jobs.”

Sangalli has called on the government for more stringent enforcement and penalties “against all forms of lawlessness.”

As Breitbart News reported earlier this week, Italy is on the verge of overtaking its record year for immigration. Since January 1, more than 168,500 migrants have landed on Italian shores and daily arrivals continue in the hundreds.

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