Contrasting Problems, Then and Now

The Prohibition era was like a wave of organized crime that affected many of Americas major cities in the 1920s and 1930s, including cities in Minnesota. Notorious gangsters and mobsters ran wild in Minnesota's major cities like St. Paul. Perhaps the hardest thing to fight for the police officers of Minnesota was corruption. In a time where bribery, extortion, and pay offs were all too common, it was hard to distinguish which police officers were legitimate or compromised. Mobsters who ran the illegitimate underground operations of murder, racketeering, extortion, bribery, boot legged goods, and prostitution ran major cities as they pleased. Their business booming illegal operations allowed them to generously pay off countless police officers and run wild. Alcohol was illegal at the time, but it could be found almost everywhere. Why would a police officer arrest an individual for a law that he himself may even think is unreasonable? Better yet why would he risk his own life to arrest a mobster for petty crimes that are seen everywhere, every day? It was way to dangerous to be a good cop and do a good cops work, doing so could mean a sure death sentence. Being corrupt seemed like a much better alternative. Police officers didn't have the luxuries and technologies that officers have today. Statistically police officers back then were fewer in number. 24 hour shifts were much more rare in cold cold Minnesota then they are today. Mobsters back then were a force to be reckoned with, gangs were well manned and had advanced Tommy machine gun weaponry that could stand up to police officers any day of the week. Today officers are much better equipped with technology and training. Systems such as Coplink and 24 hour radio dispatch help fight crime more effectively. Of course corruption and gang violence are still things that police officers have to battle today, things are looking better. As time progresses police officers and the criminal justice system become better, more effective, and more efficient.