Which 1930s national study found widespread police corruption, brutality, inefficiency, and problems with Prohibition enforcement?

• A. Wickersham Commission
• B. Patrick Colquhoun
• C. August Vollmer
• D. Erosion of public trust in police

Answer: (A)

The main concept here is the Wickersham Commission and its 1931 findings on how Prohibition was being enforced and how police operated. This national study, ordered by the Hoover administration, documented widespread corruption, brutality, and inefficiency in police work and highlighted the problems of enforcing Prohibition. It also helped spur discussions about reforms in policing and law enforcement. The other options refer to individuals or concepts rather than a nationwide study from that era—Patrick Colquhoun and August Vollmer were reformers from earlier periods, and “Erosion of public trust in police” is a description, not a national study.