Within weeks, the smugglers realized that there was little threat of being caught. Many alcoholics began to illegally make and sell alcohol. "It would have taken nothing short of a federal census- probably in simultaneous night raids- to get a count on the industrious output" (Sann 97). The law enforcement had little knowledge of what actually happened under ground. The only real way of being caught was by an undercover spy who would report to the police or to be caught transporting alcohol between states or countries. The threat of being caught by spies was minimal because of the gangs that were formed for protection so the only real threat was transporting the goods. Smugglers often times tried to disguise their product in containers or other supplies.
People that were eventually arrested were not punished enough to stop their crimes. The benefits of the crimes outweighed the punishments. Violators of the law were thrown in jail for a short amount of time and then released back to the streets to resume their previous actions where they would again make profits off illegal alcohol. "The court and prison systems were stretched to the breaking point" (Thorton). Although the jails were full, prisoners flowed continuously in and out. In fact many contacts and illegal plots were planned in prisons. (LaGuardia 57). Bootleggers gained consumers or formed gangs for their protection against future imprisonment. "It is impossible to tell whether prohibition is a good thing or a bad thing. It has never been enforced in this country" (LaGuardia). .
When people began to form gangs, they realized that they could produce much more alcohol and be safer while doing it. This caused an immediate explosion in the number of gangs. People began to realize that it was much easier to perform illegal bootlegging and smuggling in numbers rather than alone. .
Not only did the number of serious crimes increase, but crime became organized.