How succesful was the fight against Organised Crime by 1940?

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  • Created by: Lily
  • Created on: 09-05-13 16:23

How succesful was the fight against Organised Crime by 1940?

Advantages

  • FBI became so popular that tourists requested tours of its Washington Headquarters, particularly the crime laboratories and firing ranges
  • Bootlegging was no-longer an issue so crime fell
  • Hoover milked the publicity the Bureau received for hunting down criminals
  • 1936 Congress approved a $6 million budget for the FBI, double what it had been in 1933
  • Deaths of leading gangsters were landmark events
  • 1940 violent crime was less visible, no more "shoot outs"
  • FBI had 6 million fingerprints by 1936
  • Organised crime still powerfull but it took more care to be seen as respectable
  • Prosecution of Al Capone
  • National Crime Laboratory
  • Lindbergh Law

Disadvantages

  • Corruption in the police courts and locak government remained a problem
  • Most crimes ocntinued to come under state law meaning criminals were safe from arrest once they had crossed state boundaries into another state
  • Money and resources behind law enforcement were pathetically small compared to the vast financial power of organised crime
  • Murder rates rose dramatically
  • "Untouchables"
  • Little coporation between state police

Evaluation

Although the funding improved, it still wasn't enough to compete with organised crime. Crime mainly dissapeared due to the repeal of Prohibiton as their was a decrease of bootleggers. The FBI did gain a more respectable profile, however, especially due to the introduction of movies such as "G men" where law enforcement was glamourised instead of criminals.

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