The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1921-12-02
DETROIT'S RECORD AS TOLD
BY HER POLICE DEPARTMENT
How Crime Has Slumped With
the Passing of Her Hundreds
of Licensed Saloons
ENFORCEMENT IMPROVES
Crime Reduced From Half to
Two Thirds When Compared
With Last Wet Year

The Detroit police department is
sued booklet in October showing
its activities for the first nine months
of 1921, compared with similar periods
in recent years. The records of that
great city arc interesting, for they
disprove i'll toto the claim of the vets
that Prohibition has increased crime,
even in the wake of great war. These
records prove exactly the contrary,
and show that under Prohibition
crime has materially decreased.
Prohibition in Michigan became ef-
fective in May, 1918, so that 1917 was
the last full saloon year.
According to the department. rec
ords, during the first nine months of
1917, Detroit had 5S8 arrests for rob-
berry, while for the same months in
1921, the number was $780, or less
than one-half. In the first nine
months of wet 1917, there were loss
cases of breaking and entering bust
ness places against 1888 for the same
period in dry l92l-more than two
thirds decrease.
The first nine months of wet 1917
there were 1,173 cases of breaking
and entering dwellings, and only 800
such cases in the corresponding
period of dry lo2l-again more than
a two-thirds decrease.
In the first nine months of wet
1917 there were CIT cases of larceny
from the person as against 2o5 for
the same period i'll dry 1921.
To show that law enforcement in
Detroit is becoming better the longer
Prohibition is enforced, the report
shows that the total number of cases
in the police court of that city on the
four charges noted for the first nine
months of 1920 was 3l1o, while for
the corresponding period this year
the number was only 1,2l7-a de-
crease of 81 per cent.
There were LAO arrests the first
nine months of this year for violation
of the dry law as compared with 1892
for the same period last year. This
shows the law is being better en-
forced. The officials are doing a bet
ter job of "mopping up This is
proved by the fact that while there
were only SIS convictions in the first
nine months of 1920 out of 1,5o2 ar
rests for that period. there were l los
convictions in the nine months this
year out of LAO arrests.
Furthermore, while the fines i'm
posed on dry law breakers the first
nine months of 1920 aggregate $48,-
855,, such fines for the first nine
months of this year aggregate $685.
504.
Of course these figures do not in
clude assessments made and fines I'M
posed by federal authorities.
This record is remarkable in that it
covers period in which much was
heard about "crime waves" and the
effect of the war and of unemploy-
ment in increasing crime generally.
Detroit shows a heavy slump in
crime this year as compared with old
saloon days, and it also shows big
decrease this year as compared with
last
These records bear out the conten-
ton of the drys that the longer Pro-
hibtion is in force. the more marked
its benefits, and the better it is en-
forced, the more wholesome influence
such enforcement will have on the
general observance of law.
The Detroit police are making an
excellent record for themselves as
we'll as for the Prohibition cause.