Where east meets west: Police, immigration and public order crime in the settlement of Canada from 1896 to 1940

In the late 19th century the police in North America and Britain prosecuted public order offenses as a way of regulating the moral and criminal conduct of the lower classes. Between 1896 and 1940, public order law was similarly employed to assimilate the 'dangerous foreigners' from southern and eastern Europe. Time series evidence from Canada suggests there was a significant long term relationship between public order offenses (drunkenness and vagrancy) and non-British immigration. There was no long run relationship between immigration and serious crimes. The analysis supports a cultural conflict perspective regarding the policing of foreign immigrants.