Max+Jelen

Max Jelen **Crime Rates in Columbus**


 * A. Plan of the investigation**


 * What was the effect of the Great Depression on crime rates in Columbus, OH; accounting for population, and alterations of the law?** This investigation looks at crime rates (number of arrests) in the depression compared to crime rates (number of arrests) during the 1920’s. The actual police reports of each separate year for the city of Columbus are used for statistics, as well as national graphs and newspaper articles.


 * B. Summary of evidence**

__Population__


 * According to the census bureau, the population of Columbus, Ohio was 237,031 in 1920. [i]
 * According to the census bureau, the population of Columbus, Ohio was 290,564 in 1930. [ii]
 * Columbus annexed surrounding areas including, Bexley, Upper Arlington, and Grandview. These annexes contributed to a population increase of 302,537 people in Columbus over 40 years from its beginning. These areas were not areas of high crime either. [iii]
 * According to an article, //County’s Entire Area Is Now Considered as Metropolitan District,// by Carl Ebright, Columbus experienced rapid growth during the early 20th century. This growth and expansion was due to its optimal location for the transportation of coal and iron. [iv]

__Annual Reports of the Division of Police__


 * __Year Number of Arrests Population__**
 * __1920 [v] __ || 8,034 || 237,031 ||
 * __1921 [vi] __ || 8,648 || ||
 * __1922 [vii] __ || 10,601 || ||
 * __1923 [viii] __ || 10,901 || ||
 * __1924 [ix] __ || 14,323 || ||
 * __1925 [x] __ || 18,010 || ||
 * __1926 [xi] __ || 20,370 || ||
 * __1927 [xii] __ || 17,888 || ||
 * __1928 [xiii] __ || 21,076 || ||
 * __1929 [xiv] __ || 19,275 || ||
 * __1930 [xv] __ || 14,930 || 290,564 ||
 * __1931 [xvi] __ || 14,536 || ||
 * __1932 [xvii] __ || 11,721 || ||
 * __1933 [xviii] __ || 13,943 || ||
 * __1934 [xix] __ || 14,204 || ||
 * __1935 [xx] __ || 14,277 || ||
 * __1936 [xxi] __ || 14,854 || ||
 * __1937 [xxii] __ || 24,219 || ||
 * __1938 [xxiii] __ || 29,673 || ||
 * __1939 [xxiv] __ || 28,864 || ||

__Relationship between Crime and Depression__


 * According to a graph from the Justice Research and Statistics Association, crime rates following decreased, overall, throughout the United States. However, the graph started at the year 1933; the last year of prohibition. [xxv]
 * The article, //Social and Cultural Effects of the Depression,// discusses how there was a rapid rise in the crime rates due to the increased unemployment. The article said that many people resorted to petty theft in order to avoid starvation. Also, the article mentioned an increased rate of alcoholism. [xxvi]
 * In contrast to the article, //Social and Cultural Effects of the Depression [xxvii] ,// an article from the //Wall Street Times// argues that crime rates during times of recession (depression) in fact decrease. The article, //Hard Times, Fewer Crimes,// said that, “ unemployment and poverty were so common during the Great Depression that families became closer, devoted themselves to mutual support, and kept young people, who might be more inclined to criminal behavior, under constant adult supervision.” [xxviii]
 * The article, //Hard Times, Fewer Crimes,// outright said that the crime rate in many cities fell during the Great Depression, despite the fact that unemployment reached 25%. [xxix]


 * C) Evaluation of Sources**

Ebright, Carl. “County’s Entire Area Is Now Considered as Metropolitan District.” //C.E.D.// 1 Jan. 1950: n. pag. Print. //Columbus Population Records//.

The author of the article is Carl Ebright. He was a writer during the 1950’s for the C.E.D. The article was published to show the extent of the growth and expansion of Columbus during the early 20th century to the mid 20th century. The article was a tribute to the flourishing city for being an industrial center that was so well planned out. The value of this article is that it explains why the physical number of arrests in Columbus increased. It was because not only was the number of people in the city increasing, but the city’s corporation limit was expanding as well. The city was annexing surrounding areas. The limitations to this article are that the article doesn’t discuss whether the annexed areas were prone to crime. Also, the article does not mention anything regarding crime, it just talks about population and the growth of Columbus from the early 1900’s to the 1950’s.

Wilson, James Q. “Hard Times, Fewer Crimes.” //Wall Street Journal// 28 May 2011: n. pag. //The Wall Street Journal//. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. .

The author of the article is James Q. Wilson. He was a professor for many different universities, including Harvard. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago; and introduced the Windows Theory with George L. Kelling. This article was published during, what seemed like the hopeful end to the recent recession. Its purpose was to show a contrast between today’s recession and the Great Depression. It mostly talked about the correlation between crime rates of today and unemployment. The value of the article is that it discusses the effect of recession, or rather unemployment, on crime rates. It also gives an explanation possibly why crime rates can be lower during depressions because the assumption is that they would increase. However, there are some limitations to the article. The explanation given isn’t able to be statistically proven, it’s merely a hypothesis. Also, the article isn’t specifically pertaining to Columbus, OH. It’s generalized over the entire country.


 * D) Analysis**

The number of arrests in Columbus, OH did increase during the Great Depression. All factual evidence shows that. What the factual evidence, the sheer number of arrests per year, does not show is the change in laws, and population shifts. To accurately be able to state that the Great Depression effected the crime rates in Columbus, the population of each year would need to be available. Unfortunately, a census was, and still is only taken every decade. So, to say that only the Great Depression effected the crime rates in Columbus, OH, is for lack of a better phrase, unable to be determined. However, what is able to be have said as effecting crime rates during the Great Depression are population and change in laws. During the early 20th century, Columbus was a thriving city. It was becoming a gateway for railroad transportation. Columbus’ location was prime for coal and iron trade. As a result of becoming a trade Mecca, Columbus had an industrial boom, which caused a substantial population increase. The population increase was a result of two occurrences, though. The first, was the increase of the number of people moving from somewhere to the city. The second part to the population increase was the expansion of the city boundaries. Over the span of a few decades, the city of Columbus annexed surrounding areas. These surrounding areas had been inhabited by people and were already developed when they became a part of the city of Columbus. So, the city experienced a population increase in two different ways as well as an increase in the physical area of the city. It went from 17 square miles in 1900 to 220 square miles in 1950 [xxx]. The number of arrests rose, in part because Columbus expanded by annexing surrounding areas, while at the same time the population increased resulting from increased attention to the city due to trade. So, naturally, if there are more people in the city, there are going to be more arrests. Another thing that should be taken into consideration is the change in laws. Over time, certain laws become outdated and not applicable to the current day and age. The enacting of prohibition had a drastic effect on the number of arrests during the Great Depression. So, with all of this in consideration, then, one could say that the Great Depression effected crime rates in Columbus, OH. Prohibition added a handful of laws. Of which included drunkenness, distribution of alcohol, possession of alcohol, intoxication, along with many more. These laws accounted for a large increase in the number of arrests throughout the United States, and in this case, specifically Columbus. The enacting of new laws, such as prohibition, along with the expansion and population growth of Columbus resulted in an increase of arrests during the Great Depression. The crime rate from 1920-1929 was 5.612% and the crime rate from 1930-1939 was 6.247%. These percentages are by no means accurate, however. The number of arrests per each year was added up. An average of the sum was then divided by the population at the beginning of the decade. Also, the beginning of the Great Depression was 1929, however, since the census only came out every decade, the year 1929 had to be included in the 1920-1929 section. So, the calculated percentages do not represent the entire range of the Great Depression.


 * E) Conclusion**

It is inconclusive whether or not the Great Depression effected crime rates in Columbus, OH. Despite this, it can be concluded that population change and city expansion, and different laws such as prohibition did effect crime rates during the Great Depression in Columbus, OH.


 * F) Sources and Word Limit**

“City Grows from One to 40 Square Miles.” //Ohio State Journal// 4 July 1940: n. pag. Print. //Columbus Population Records//. Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1920.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. Ebright, Carl. “County’s Entire Area Is Now Considered as Metropolitan District.” //C.E.D.// 1 Jan. 1950: n. pag. Print. //Columbus Population Records//. “Social and Cultural Effects of the Depression.” //U.S. History//. N.p., 2012. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. . “Social and Cultural Effects of the Depression.” //U.S. History Online Textbook//. N.p., 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. . “Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics Online.” //University of Albany//. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Feb. 2012. . United States. Census Bureau. //1940 Census of Population//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. //U.S. Census Bureau//. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. . - - -. - - -. //1920 Census//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. //U.S. Census Bureau//. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. . - - -. U.S. Census. //1930 Census//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. //U.S. Census Bureau//. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. . “United States Index Crime Rate, 1933–1998.” Chart. N.p.: n.p., n.d. //Justice Research and Statistics Association//. Web. 18 Feb. 2012. . Wilson, James Q. “Hard Times, Fewer Crimes.” //Wall Street Journal// 28 May 2011: n. pag. //The Wall Street Journal//. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. .
 * 1427 words**

[i] United States. Census Bureau. //1920 Census of Population//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. //U.S. Census Bureau//. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. . [ii] United States. Census Bureau. //1940 Census of Population//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. //U.S. Census Bureau//. Web. 14 Mar. 2012.  [iii] City Grows from One to 40 Square Miles.” //Ohio State Journal// 4 July 1940: n. pag. Print. //Columbus Population Records//.

[iv] Ebright, Carl. “County’s Entire Area Is Now Considered as Metropolitan District.” //C.E.D.// 1 Jan. 1950: n. pag. Print. //Columbus Population Records//. [v] Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1920.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. [vi] Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1921.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. [vii] Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1922.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. [viii] Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1923.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. [ix] Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1924.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.:n.p., n.d. Print. [x] Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1925.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. [xi] Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1926.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. [xii] Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1927.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. [xiii] Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1928.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. [xiv] Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1929.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. [xv] Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1930.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. [xvi] Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1931.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. [xvii] Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1932.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. [xviii] Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1933.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. [xix] Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1934.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. [xx] Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1935.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. [xxi] Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1936.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. [xxii] Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1937.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. [xxiii] Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1938.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. [xxiv] Columbus. Other. “Report of Division of Police 1939.” //Supplement of the City Bulletin//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. [xxv] “United States Index Crime Rate, 1933–1998.” Chart. N.p.: n.p., n.d. // Justice Research and Statistics Association //. Web. 18 Feb. 2012. . [xxvi] “Social and Cultural Effects of the Depression.” //U.S. History Online Textbook//. N.p., 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. . [xxvii] Ibid. [xxviii] Wilson, James Q. “Hard Times, Fewer Crimes.” //Wall Street Journal// 28 May 2011: n. pag. //The Wall Street Journal//. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. . [xxix] Ibid. [xxx] Ebright, Carl. “County’s Entire Area Is Now Considered as Metropolitan District.” //C.E.D.// 1 Jan. 1950: n. pag. Print. //Columbus Population Records//.

Effects of the Great Depression on crime rates in Columbus, OH.

“United States Index Crime Rate, 1933–1998.” Chart. N.p.: n.p., n.d. //Justice Research and Statistics Association//. Web. 18 Feb. 2012. .

====** Origin: ** The Justice Research and Statistics Association is a nonprofit organization. The JRSA serves to promote the exchange of information among the Statistical Analysis Centers, allowing them to work towards common goal, and to share data between the state agencies and the Justice Department. They aren’t, however, a government agency. ====

====** Value: ** The value of these graphs gives me general information regarding fluctuations in statistics that are relating to crime rates. The graphs help prove my thesis that crime rates rose during the Great Depression. All of the graphs, crime rate index, prison population, and murder rates, increased during the 1930’s. The murder rate graph even highlighted the time period of the Great Depression because there was such an increase. ====

====** Origin: ** These statistics are from the "Sourcebook of criminal Justice Statistics 2003". The info was gathered from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners 1925-81. ====

====** Purpose: ** It was published in order to document and compare crime rates based on population per year. This is important when determining fluctuations in crime rates throughout history and in the present. ====

====** Value: ** The value of the source is that it shows statistics that date back to 1925, which I had difficulty finding. Also, these statistics support my thesis that crime during the Great Depression rose. ====