Rhode Island Crime Plagued by Prohibition-Era Vice in 1939

Rhode Island’s 1939 crime landscape was dominated by the dark underbelly of Prohibition-era America. Vice and gangster influence had a stranglehold on the state, fueling a surge in violent crime.

The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program, established in 1929, provided a glimpse into the nation’s crime trends. In 1939, Rhode Island’s law enforcement agencies submitted reports to the UCR, offering a snapshot of the state’s crime problem.

Prohibition, which went into effect in 1920, had brought about a rise in organized crime nationwide. Bootlegging, extortion, and racketeering became rampant, as gangs like the infamous Five Points Gang and the powerful Boston Irish mob exerted their influence across the region. Rhode Island, with its strategic location and porous borders, was not immune to this surge in crime.

The FBI UCR data for 1939 paints a picture of a state in chaos. Burglaries, larcenies, and assaults skyrocketed as gangsters and small-time crooks exploited the lucrative underworld of bootlegging and vice. The UCR’s 1939 report noted a significant increase in arrests for ‘vice’ crimes, including prostitution, gambling, and liquor law offenses. This trend was not unique to Rhode Island, as the nation grappled with the consequences of Prohibition.

As the nation teetered on the brink of another global conflict, the American public’s attention was drawn to the home front. The FBI UCR program, while still in its infancy, provided a crucial tool for law enforcement agencies to track and combat the rising tide of crime. In Rhode Island, the UCR data would serve as a call to action, highlighting the need for more effective policing and community engagement to combat the entrenched influence of organized crime.

The Prohibition era, which would eventually come to an end with the repeal of the 18th Amendment in 1933, had left an indelible mark on Rhode Island’s crime landscape. The 1939 statistics, while not comprehensive, offered a glimpse into a state struggling to contain the fallout from a decade of vice and gangster rule.