K. Mullen 
Dangerous Strangers 
Minority Newcomers and Criminal Violence in the Urban West, 1850-2000

Have newcomers to American cities been responsible for a disproportionate amount of violent crime? Dangerous Strangers takes up this question by examining the incidence of criminal violence among several waves of immigrant/ethnic groups in San Francisco over 150 years. By looking at a variety of groups – Irish, German, Italian, and Chinese immigrants, primarily – and their different experiences at varying times in the city’s history, this study addresses the issue of how much violence can be attributed to new groups’ treatment by the host society and how much can be traced to traits found in their community of origin. Dangerous Strangers fills an acknowledged gap in the literature of homicide studies and broadens our understanding of newcomer violence.

Table of Content

Introduction * The Australians * The Latinos * The Irish * The Chinese * The Italians * The African Americans * Violent Rainbow * Afterword * Appendix 1: On Methods * Appendix 2: On Sources * Notes * Bibliography

About the author

Kevin J. Mullen is retired deputy chief of the San Francisco Police Department. He is the author of
Let Justice Be Done: Crime and Politics in Early San Francisco.