ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the experiences of ethnic groups, both white and nonwhite, represent a forgotten or ignored dimension of the relationship among crime, inequality and social control in the United States. It contends that the failure of researchers to examine these experiences has important implications for the making of both social theory and public policy. The chapter suggests that through study of ethnic differences researchers will be able to further specify and test the conflict perspective and other theories of social control. It begins by considering America's white ethnics, whose experiences represent a largely forgotten saga of crime and punishment in the United States. A competing perspective linked high rates of white ethnic crime during the past to conflicts between their cultures and the culture they found in United States. Many scholarly treatments of foreign-born versus native crime rates have tended to de-emphasize the extent to which ethnic and nationality differences exist among both immigrant and native groupings.
