Organised Crime in the 1920’s

What a time the 1920’s was, with the party atmosphere  it was certainly a time of great criminal activity, with the prohibition laws in America and the world in an economic depression, people turned more and more to criminal activity, Organised criminals such as the American mobsters, and European crime syndicates thirved, most common people looked upon these organisations as  heroes. Criminals like Al Caponne,  Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger were headliners of the era.

Jobs were scarce and people needed to provide for there families, gansterism   was dangerous but provided an easy way to make money. When the American government passed the Eighteenth admendments  outlawing alcohol, people who enjoyed a drink became criminal for drinking. It was organised 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 and explosive growth in crime 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 organised crime became the main supplier of booze. With a large coastline it was almost impossible to police only five percent of alcohol was ever confiscated.