Title: • Prohibition: US homicide and suicide rate 1900-1950 | Statista
Headings: Suicide and homicide rate changes during Prohibition (1920-1933) in the United States from 1900 to 1950
(rate per 100,000 people)

Changes in homicide and suicide rates during Prohibition in the US 1900-1950
Impact on homicide rate
Impact on suicide rate
Suicide and homicide rate changes during Prohibition (1920-1933) in the United States from 1900 to 1950 (rate per 100,000 people)
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Content: Impact on homicide rate
In the two decades before Prohibition, the recorded homicide rate in the United States was growing gradually, although often fluctuating in the 1910s. When Prohibition came into effect, the homicide rate continued on it's previous trajectory, but without fluctuating. While homicides related to alcohol consumption may have declined, some historians speculate that the total number could have continued to rise due to the increase in criminal activity associated with the illegal alcohol trade. The homicide rate in the US reached it's highest figure in the final year of Prohibition, with 9.7 homicides per 100,000 people in 1933, before falling to roughly half of this rate over the next ten years (this decrease in the early 1940s was also facilitated by the draft for the Second World War). Impact on suicide rate
Alcohol's contribution to suicide rates has been significant throughout history, however it is only through more recent studies that society is beginning to form a clearer picture of what the relationship between the two actually is. In the first half of the twentieth century, there was no record of alcohol's role in individual suicide cases, however there was a noticeable change in the US' suicide rate during the 1920s. Prior to Prohibition, the suicide rate had already fallen from over 16 deaths per 100,000 people in 1915 to 11.5 in 1919, however this decline has been attributed to the role played by the First World War, which saw millions enlist and contribute to the war effort (a similar decrease can be observed in the lead up to the Second World War). After an initial spike in 1921, the suicide rate in the US then increases gradually throughout the 1920s, spiking again following the Great Depression in 1929. It is unclear whether the reduction in the US suicide rate in the 1910s and 1920s can be attributed to Prohibition, or whether it should be attributed to a variety of socio-economic factors, however the changing figures does suggest some correlation when compared with other decades. Suicide and homicide rate changes during Prohibition (1920-1933) in the United States from 1900 to 1950 (rate per 100,000 people)
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