Early Enforcement

Written by Bakersfield Magazine

A mere two years after 58 liquor permits were granted to establishments around the city in 1918, prohibition came to Bakersfield. Police officers were in charge of keeping liquor outside the city limits and away from a population of just over 18,000. They were faced with bootleggers and scheming bar owners who regularly disguised “hard” drinks for “soft” ones. Gambling halls were constantly in need of inspection and permits for card and dice games were granted and revoked at a frequent rate.

Yet these were just some of the troubles the young Bakersfield Police Department dealt with. As the city grew throughout the ‘20s, and new ordinances were passed, the department was in charge of enforcing a whole new set of regulations. Our city had only just begun to spin the wheels of automobile-induced freedom (see page 30), and already we were being told how to drive. Needless to say, the city was restless. The seemingly minor 1924 ordinance to limit the amount of time people could be parked downtown was heavily protested. Still, during those first three months, officers wrote hundreds of citations to disgruntled citizens.

Between 1920 and 1930, new vehicles were purchased for the department at an unprecedented pace. Among them, two Ace motorcycles were given to patrolmen after a citizen-formed committee approved their purchase at a cost of $1,158 in 1921. A Special Six Studebaker touring car was purchased for “prohibition enforcement purposes” in 1923. That same year, the newly released Dodge touring car, equipped with a red light and siren, was helping police “clean up” the streets; streets which showed the wear and tear of Bakersfield’s shenanigans during the “Roaring ‘20s.”

The year 1927 saw the procurement of a combination patrol wagon and ambulance...no doubt to haul away those who couldn’t play by the rules.

As the decade came to a close, fewer prohibition-related incidents were recorded by the city’s Board of Trustees, indicating citizens may have been adjusting to the new ordinances. The humiliation of being thrown into a paddy wagon may have been all that was needed!

Article appeared in our 27-1 Issue - April 2010