In the context of the unique crime problems of the United States, John Hagan advances a new sociology of crime and disrepute that focuses on the criminal costs of social inequality. He connects the diversion of funding away from distressed communities in the USA to increased violence and lack of social mobility for disadvantaged groups which in turn result in the development of `deviance service centers' and `ethnic vice industries'. Hagan further shows the important link between `crime in the streets' and `crime in the suites' and the difference between the two in eluding punishment.
