Arrests by Offense, 2005 to 2015
The previous post -- Arrest Overview -- reviewed overall trends since 1980 and highlighted the decline in misdemeanor and felony arrests since the 1990s. This post examines the past decade in more detail - it identifies the most common reasons for misdemeanor and felony arrests and explores how arrests differ by race or ethnicity and gender.
Highlights include:
- Arrest rates for most offenses fell over the past decade for all demographics, with notable reductions in racial disparities for Narcotics
- In 2015, there was a large decrease in felony drug and burglary arrests and a corresponding increase in misdemeanor drug and burglary arrests, likely due to Prop 47
- This led to a reduction in felony arrest rates for all demographics, most notably for Blacks
- Blacks and Hispanics remain more likely to be arrested for most offenses than are Whites
Felony and misdemeanor trends
Over the past decade, roughly one-third of arrests were for felonies and two-thirds were for misdemeanors. In Nov. 2014, Prop 47 reclassified many drug and property offenses from felonies to misdemeanors, resulting in one quarter of arrests being for felonies and three quarters being for misdemeanors. The ratio of felony to misdemeanor arrests is highest for Blacks. Whites are slightly less likely to be arrested for felonies than are Hispanics.
What offenses are adults arrested for?
For felony arrests in 2015, Assaults comprised ~30%, property crimes made up ~20% (Theft at 9%, Burglary at 7%, Motor Vehicle Theft at 5%), and drug offenses made up ~15% (Dangerous Drugs at 8%, Narcotics at 4%, Marijuana at 3%). The top three misdemeanor offenses were Drug Violations (18%), Failure to Appear (17%) and Driving Under the Influence (13%). The composition of arrests changed notably from previous years, primarily due to Prop 47. As a percentage of all felonies, Dangerous Drugs went from 21% to 8% and Narcotics went from 9% to 4%. Assault constituted a 9% larger share of all felonies (though the number of arrests held steady). The share of misdemeanor drug and burglary arrests increased by 8% and 2%, respectively.
How have arrest rates for offenses changed over time?
Among felony arrests, Assaults declined 25% from 2005 to 2013; Dangerous Drugs dropped dramatically from 2005 to 2009, rebounded, and dropped again by 75% in 2015; Narcotics arrests steadily declined from 2005 to 2014 and then fell nearly 70% in 2015. Arrests for Theft and Motor Vehicle Theft each declined by a little over 50% from 2005. Burglary arrests stayed relatively flat over the decade until declining about 50%. For misdemeanors, both DUIs and Drunk arrests peaked in 2008 and each has since fallen by about 40%.
Drag a rectangle on chart to zoom in.
How do arrest offenses differ by race in 2015?
Assault is now the felony offense for which people of all races are arrested most frequently (~25%). Other felony arrests differ by race and ethnicity. Blacks have a relatively higher proportion of arrests for Robbery, while Whites and Hispanics are proportionally arrested more for Dangerous Drugs. (Before Prop 47, Whites and Hispanics were more likely to be arrested for Dangerous Drugs than Assaults). For misdemeanors, Blacks are most frequently arrested for Failure to Appear, followed by Other Drug Law Violations and Assault & Battery while the most common arrests for Whites and Hispanics are Other Drug Law Violations, DUIs, Failure to Appear, and public intoxication ("Drunk").
2015 arrest percentages
2014 arrest percentages
2015 arrest percentages
2014 arrest percentages
How do arrest rates differ by race over time?
A decade ago, Blacks were about 17x more likely to be arrested for Narcotics-related offenses than were Whites. That ratio has steadily declined and is now about 5x. From 2005 to 2008, Dangerous Drug arrest rates remained relatively steady for Blacks while declining for Whites and Hispanics, and then increased for all races. For misdemeanors, arrests of Blacks for Other Drug Law Violations fell about 60% from 2006 to 2013. All groups saw declines in arrests for DUI and Drunk, with Hispanics dropping the most. Prop 47 had a notable impact on all races, particularly for Blacks: Black felony arrest rates fell by 300 per 100,000 for both Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, and fell by over 200 per 100,000 for Burglary; Hispanics and Whites saw respective decreases of 250 and 200 per 100,000 for Dangerous Drugs.
Drag a rectangle on chart to zoom in.
Drag a rectangle on chart to zoom in.
What are the racial and gender arrest disparities in 2015?
Blacks are more likely to be arrested for almost every felony than are Whites or Hispanics. Blacks are over 10x more likely to be arrested for Robbery than are Whites, and over 4x more likely to be arrested for Assault. For misdemeanors, Blacks are about 4x more likely to be arrested for Traffic Violations and about 3x more likely to be arrested for Contempt of Court than are whites. Compared to whites, Black women are over 20x more likely to be arrested for Prostitution (Black men are over 6x more likely). Hispanic men are also more likely to be arrested for a felony than are White men. For certain misdemeanors, Hispanics are less likely to be arrested than Whites. Asians are less likely than Whites to be arrested for all offenses, except for Marijuana. Racial disparities are larger for men than women and more apparent for misdemeanor than felony arrests.
Relative likelihood of Black and Hispanic felony arrests relative to Whites (2015)
Relative likelihood of Black and Hispanic misdemeanor arrests relative to Whites (2015)
Drag a rectangle on chart to zoom in. Hover over bubbles for information on offense type.