Outlaws of Erie and Wartime Bandits Crime in Erie, Pennsylvania 1941-1946

Abstract

In contrast to World War One, there was very little hysteria with regard to America’s role in World War Two. Aside from the shameful incarceration of Japanese-Americans in internment camps, there were no wholesale arrests of war critics. But while the war was labeled the “good war,” it was far from being crime- free. Most crime and punishment scholars suggest that during most wars, the level of crime declines and that after wars there are sharp increases in the number of crimes. This, however, is fallacious. These same scholars who suggest a drop in crime during periods of war will be among the first to suggest the misleading nature of “crime rates.” They argue that an accurate level of crime can never be determined because there is no single surveillance system that can detect, monitor, and record all incidences of criminal behavior. Thus, what we know as “crime rates” are in actuality closer to “arrest rates” or a variation thereof. One might, therefore, more accurately posit the argument that the police arrested fewer criminals during the war. It is further misleading to suggest that the war did not have an impact on the nature of crime. In an examination of Erie, Pennsylvania between 1941 and 1946, it is clear that America’s entrance into the “good war” had a significant impact on crime and punishment.