How Did Prohibition Cause Crime

This quote exemplifies the outrage that the American public, including congressman, had with Prohibition Laws. Another prison that saw an increase in inmate population was Sing-Sing Prison in Ossining, New York. Sing-Sing saw the amount of inmates from 1917 to 1922 increase by 33%. Prohibition was not accomplishing its goals, and as the decade progressed, court rooms and jails overflowed. The American judicial system failed to keep up with the jail overflow and crime in the country, so many defendants in prohibition cases waited over a year to be brought to trial. As the amount of Prohibition related cases increased, the courts turned to the plea bargain to clear hundreds of cases at a time, eventually making the bargain a common practice in

Not only did the number of serious crimes increase, but crime during Prohibition became organized. Criminal groups became organized around the “steady source of income provided by laws against victimless crimes such as consuming alcohol or drugs, gambling, and prostitution.” These criminal groups and organizations became known as mafias, which were organized groups that used extortions and other criminal methods to become affluent. The mafia was the first real criminal element that surfaced during Prohibition. As a result of the mafia’s involvement in illegal activities, crime spiked, and crime associates, such as the infamous Chicago crime boss Al Capone, grew stronger and wealthier. Capone reportedly made an astonishing $60 million annually from bootleg operations and speakeasies. These illegal operations acted as fuel to fire rise in gang violence. One of the worst incidents of gang violence

This goal, too, was not successful. By 1830, the average American over the age of 15 consumed 88 bottles of whiskey per year. In the early years of Prohibition, supporters had reasons to believe the law was working and would continue to work, as there was a decline in arrests for drunkenness, a lower incidence of hospitalization for alcoholism, and fewer cases of liver-related illnesses At the beginning of Prohibition, alcohol consumption declined to “approximately 30 percent of pre-Prohibition levels”. These positive outcomes were mainly due to the initial adjustments to Prohibition and the effort put into changing the country. In about two years, however, people would figure out how to drink despite the law. In the following several years, alcohol consumption increased to “approximately 60 to 70 percent of pre-Prohibition levels.” Later on in Prohibition, the level of alcohol consumption was about the same as immediately when Prohibition started A reason that things did not change may have been that illegal drinking, even at a higher cost, expense and risk wise, than during pre-Prohibition, provided Americans with a desirable sense of adventure and risk. For over a decade, the law that was meant to cultivate temperance instead cultivated intemperance and illegality. The solution the United States created to address the problem of alcohol abuse instead made problems worse than ever