White-collar crime has been relatively neglected in criminological and criminal justice scholarship and curriculums. Despite a general pattern of increased attention to white-collar crime since the 1970s, white-collar crime still does not have the status of a high-priority social problem. In some localities and under special circumstances, an aroused public has demanded action in response to such white-collar crimes as corporate crime and toxic contamination of residential areas. In many other situations, however, the complex, often indirect, and diffuse character of white-collar crime inhibits public mobilization. White-collar crime continues to be a significant social problem in terms of objective standards measuring harmfulness but not necessarily in terms of public concern. Constraints on according white-collar crime the status of a major social problem are noted, social policy ramifications of white-collar crime are discussed, and the problem of white-collar crime in Caribbean countries is addressed. 19 references