The Cyclone Files \ 20th Century Crime \ Organized Crime in the 1920’s

Organized Crime in the 1920’s

Written by Tim Nash

The Cyclone Files

Organized Crime in the 1920’s - Prohibition

What a time the 1920’s was, with the party atmosphere it was certainly a time of great criminal activity, the prohibition laws in America and the world in an economic depression. The people turned more and more to criminal activity, organized criminals such as the American mobsters and European crime syndicates thrived, most common people looked upon these organizations as heroes.

Organized Crime in the 1920’s

Criminals like Al Capone, Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger were headliners of the era. Jobs were scarce and people needed to provide for their families, gangsterism was dangerous but provided an easy way to make money. When the American government passed the Eighteenth amendments outlawing alcohol, people who enjoyed a drink became criminal for drinking. It was organized crime who supplied the booze. In January of 1920 the American government banned the sale and supply of alcohol, the government thought that this would curb crime and violence, Prohibition did not achieve it’s goals, leading more toward higher crime rates and excessive violence.

Alcohol was seen as the devil advocate and banning the substance would help improve the quality of American lives. It caused an explosive growth in crime with more than double the amount of illegal bars and saloons operating than before prohibition, the government set up the Federal Prohibition Bureau to police prohibition, this did not deter people and organized crime became the main supplier of booze. With a large coastline it was almost impossible to police with only five percent of alcohol ever being confiscated. Bribing government officials was common, people were ever increasingly crafty in the way they would hide the alcohol, in hollowed out canes, false books and hip flask.

Violence on the streets increased as unemployment rose, the closure of all alcohol related industries was the main reason behind increased unemployment, people who were hard working Americans suddenly were drinking a banned substance. Police resources that were used to fight other crime were diverted to the prevention of alcohol consumption. Criminal gangs supplied the booze and were ruthless with over inflated prices, fighting each other for control of the trade. A whole black market was created around alcohol.

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The quality of alcohol was poor and many people became sick, deaths from alcohol poisoning rose 400%, people will argue that alcohol was less easily obtainable before prohibition since the bootlegging industry was so immense that you could purchase alcohol on almost any street in America, many home products were of poor quality but people were very inventive about the making of home alcohol. Although a great idea in concept, prohibition was ultimately a failure; the public grew less respectful of the law. Drink driving increased and public drunkenness also increased.

After thirteen long years the government finally sore that prohibition was not working it had created more of a problem than it solved, finally they abolished the prohibition laws, crime decreased and the criminal element was taken out of the industry. Organized crime in the 1920's flourished in America because of prohibition, and they did not stop there, after that era they simply went on to other markets with their new found wealth. Had prohibition never happened organized crime syndicates may not have become so wealthy or powerful.

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