The Eighteenth Amendment & Rise of Organized Crime

On January 16th 1920, America created the Eighteenth Amendment [i.e. Prohibition] which allowed the government to outlaw the manufacturing, selling, importing, exporting, sale, possession and transportation of alcoholic beverages in the United States. The citizens of that time thought the only way to prevent drunkenness was to outlaw alcohol. The idea was if less people were drunk then America would be better. Yet, an alarming trend began to arise as crime rates began to increase with staggering speed.

These are statistics from Organized Crime and Prohibition detailing the increase in crime:

• Police funding: INCREASED $11.4 Million
• Arrests for Prohibition Law Violations: INCREASED 102+%
• Arrests for Drunkenness and Disorderly Conduct: INCREASED 41%
• Arrests of Drunken Drivers: INCREASED 81%
• Thefts and Burglaries: INCREASED 9%
• Homicides, Assault, and Battery: INCREASED 13%
• Number of Federal Convicts: INCREASED 561%
• Federal Prison Population: INCREASED 366%
• Total Federal Expenditures on Penal Institutions: INCREASED 1,000%

As crime continued to increase it began to evolve and crime soon became organized. Criminal groups began to organize around the steady source of income provided by laws against victimless crimes like drinking, doing drugs, gambling, and prostitution. Many criminal elements first began to surface during Prohibition. It was bootlegging alcohol during prohibition that gave birth to Organized Crime in America. The steady source of income from bootlegging allowed the American "gangsta" to finance their operations and quickly gain power and influence. Without prohibition, the organization of crime might never have taken place.