Arrests in the United States

Chart 1

Arrests in the United States

This table gives statistics on arrests made in the United States by category. In 1995 theft and drug use violations, including driving under the influence of alcohol, accounted for nearly one-third of all U.S. arrests.

Crime

Number Of Arrests

2000
Drug abuse violations	1,579,566
Driving under the influence	1,471,289
Larceny-theft	1,166,362
Liquor laws	683,124
Disorderly conduct	638,740
Drunkenness	637,554
Aggravated assault	478,417
Fraud	345,732
Burglary	289,844
Vandalism	281,305
Weapons: carrying, possessing, etc.	159,181
Curfew and loitering law violations	154,711
Motor vehicle theft	148,225
Offenses against the family and children	147,663
Runaways	141,975
Stolen property: buying, receiving, possessing	118,641
Forgery and counterfeiting	108,654
Robbery	106,130
Sex offenses (except forcible rape and prostitution)	93,399
Prostitution and commercialized vice	87,620
Vagrancy	32,542
Forcible rape	27,469
Embezzlement	18,952
Arson	16,530
Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter	13,227
Gambling	10,842
Suspicion *	5,682
All other offenses	3,710,434
Total	13,980,297
* Not included in total. Notes: Arrest totals are based on reporting agencies and estimates for unreported areas. Because of rounding, figures may not add up to totals.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Report

Chart 2

Arrests by Race in the United States

Arrests are a good gauge of law enforcement's response to crime

	Total Arrests					Percent Distribution
Offense charged	Total	White	Black	Native American or Alaskan Native	Asian or Pacific Islander		White	Black	Native American or Alaskan Native	Asian or Pacific Islander

2000
Total violent crime ¹	414,420	248,167	156,718	4,271	5,264	59.9	37.8	1.0	1.3
Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter	8,683	4,231	4,238	87	127	48.7	48.8	1.0	1.5
Forcible rape	17,859	11,381	6,089	197	192	63.7	34.1	1.1	1.1
Robbery	72,149	31,921	38,897	445	886	44.2	53.9	0.6	1.2
Aggravated assault	315,729	200,634	107,494	3,542	4,059	63.5	34.0	1.1	1.3
Total property crime ²	1,076,844	713,331	333,565	12,901	17,047	66.2	31.0	1.2	1.6
Burglary	188,726	131,049	53,573	1,787	2,317	69.4	28.4	0.9	1.2
Larceny-theft	779,166	519,671	236,801	9,916	12,778	66.7	30.4	1.3	1.6
Motor vehicle theft	98,318	54,490	40,886	1,099	1,843	55.4	41.6	1.1	1.9
Arson	10,634	8,121	2,305	99	109	76.4	21.7	0.9	1.0
Total of above crimes	1,491,264	961,498	490,283	17,172	22,311	64.5	32.9	1.2	1.5
Drug abuse violations	1,039,086	667,485	358,571	5,547	7,483	64.2	34.5	0.5	0.7
Driving under the influence	900,089	793,696	86,194	11,855	8,344	88.2	9.6	1.3	0.9
Other assaults	855,536	564,571	269,736	11,695	9,534	66.0	31.5	1.4	1.1
Drunkenness	421,859	357,283	57,806	4,633	2,137	84.7	13.7	1.1	0.5
Liquor laws	433,637	371,186	46,107	13,091	3,253	85.6	10.6	3.0	0.8
Disorderly conduct	419,408	273,884	136,573	6,030	2,921	65.3	32.6	1.4	0.7
Fraud	211,984	142,684	66,672	1,173	1,455	67.3	31.5	0.6	0.7
Vandalism	184,010	139,662	39,779	2,573	1,996	75.9	21.6	1.4	1.1
Curfew and loitering law violations	105,563	76,233	26,065	1,165	2,100	72.2	24.7	1.1	2.0
Weapons; carrying, possessing, etc.	104,996	64,410	38,596	776	1,214	61.3	36.8	0.7	1.2
Runaways	93,267	71,180	16,726	1,275	4,086	76.3	17.9	1.4	4.4
Offenses against the family and children	90,502	61,212	26,805	931	1,554	67.6	29.6	1.0	1.7
Stolen property; buying, receiving, possessing	78,429	46,233	30,690	579	927	58.9	39.1	0.7	1.2
Forgery and counterfeiting	70,828	48,197	21,227	421	983	68.0	30.0	0.6	1.4
Prostitution and commercialized vice	61,347	35,567	24,222	514	1,044	58.0	39.5	0.8	1.7
Sex offenses (except forcible rape and prostitution)	60,936	45,317	14,149	668	802	74.4	23.2	1.1	1.3
Vagrancy	21,967	11,772	9,524	562	109	53.6	43.4	2.6	0.5
Embezzlement	12,539	7,975	4,281	51	232	63.6	34.1	0.4	1.9
Gambling	7,149	2,195	4,607	29	318	30.7	64.4	0.4	4.4
Suspicion	3,675	2,535	1,086	11	43	69.0	29.6	0.3	1.2
All other offenses (except traffic)	2,400,906	1,579,231	758,669	31,441	31,565	65.8	31.6	1.3	1.3
Total arrests	9,068,977	6,324,006	2,528,368	112,192	104,411	69.7	27.9	1.2	1.2

Chart 3

U.S. Prisoners and Crimes

This chart indicates the number of inmates in state prisons in the United States convicted of various types of crimes. Individuals convicted of drug offenses, such as possession and sale of controlled substances, constitute the largest proportion of U.S. prisoners.

Chart 4

Estimated Numbers of Lifetime Users of Illicit Drugs, Alcohol, and Tobacco in the United States

Data are for U.S. population aged 12 and older. In thousands.

Drug

1985

1990

1995

2000

Any illicit drug ¹	66,172	68,838	72,426	86,931
Marijuana and hashish	56,547	61,266	65,545	76,321
Cocaine	21,495	22,617	21,700	24,896
Crack	N/A	2,967	3,895	5,307
Inhalants	15,167	11,562	12,016	16,702
Hallucinogens	13,221	15,925	20,129	26,125
PCP (phencyclidine)	3,811	4,019	6,718	5,804
LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide)	8,889	11,656	15,852	19,642
Heroin	1,826	1,517	2,451	2,779
Nonmedical use of any psychotherapeutic ²	29,386	22,731	21,446	32,443
Stimulants	14,139	11,156	10,360	14,661
Sedatives	9,260	5,609	5,760	7,142
Tranquilizers	14,692	8,020	8,251	13,007
Analgesics	14,693	12,751	12,806	19,210
Any illicit drug other than marijuana ¹	43,130	39,190	40,426	52,605
1) "Any illicit drug" indicates use at least once of marijuana or hashish, cocaine (including crack), inhalants, hallucinogens (including PCP and LSD), heroin, or any prescription-type psychotherapeutic used nonmedically. "Any illicit drug other than marijuana" indicates use at least once of any of these listed drugs, regardless of marijuana use; marijuana users who have also used any of the other listed drugs are included. 2) Nonmedical use of any prescription-type stimulant, sedative, tranquilizer, or analgesic; does not include over-the-counter drugs. (N/A = not available.)

Chart 5

Percentages Reporting a Lifetime Use of Illicit Drugs, Alcohol, and Tobacco in the United States

Drug

1985

1990

1995

2000

Any illicit drug ¹	34.4	34.2	34.2	38.9
Marijuana and hashish	29.4	30.5	31.0	34.2
Cocaine	11.2	11.2	10.3	11.2
Crack	N/A	1.5	1.8	2.4
Inhalants	7.9	5.7	5.7	7.5
Hallucinogens	6.9	7.9	9.5	11.7
PCP (phencyclidine)	2.0	2.0	3.2	2.6
LSD (lysergic acid diethylomide)	4.6	5.8	7.5	8.8
Heroin	0.9	0.8	1.2	1.2
Nonmedical use of any psychotherapeutic ²	15.3	11.3	10.1	14.5
Stimulants	7.3	5.5	4.9	6.6
Sedatives	4.8	2.8	2.7	3.2
Tranquilizers	7.6	4.0	3.9	5.8
Analgesics	7.6	6.3	6.1	8.6
Any illicit drug other than marijuana ¹	22.4	19.5	19.1	23.6
1) "Any illicit drug" indicates use at least once of marijuana or hashish, cocaine (including crack), inhalants, hallucinogens (including PCP and LSD), heroin, or any prescription-type psychotherapeutic used nonmedically. "Any illicit drug other than marijuana" indicates use at least once of any of these listed drugs, regardless of marijuana use; marijuana users who have also used any of the other listed drugs are included. 2) Nonmedical use of any prescription-type stimulant, sedative, tranquilizer, or analgesic; does not include over-the-counter drugs. (N/A = not available.)
Source: U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Chart 6

United States Population Growth

Chart 7

U.S. Population Growth by Race

This chart shows the growth rate of the United States population by race during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Chart 8

Federal study linking wide range of behavior problems to marijuana use by teens. A SAMHSA Report: Adolescent Self-Reported Behaviors and their Association with Marijuana Use. Published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and is based on analysis of data from the 1994 through 1996 National Household Surveys on Drug Abuse (NHSDA).

SAMHSA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the lead Federal agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment, and mental health services in the United States.