Low-level arrests are rising despite national crime declines

Arrests for low-level offenses, including vagrancy and drug possession, increased nationwide in 2025, even as violent crime continued to decline, according to a new analysis of federal data.

The analysis, which was released in late October by the criminal justice advocacy organization FWD.us, found that arrests for vagrancy, an offense often associated with homelessness, rose 44% between 2024 and 2025, while arrests for marijuana possession increased 6% and possession of other drugs rose 3%.

Arrests for immigration violations nearly tripled, rising 188% between 2024 and 2025, amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. The increase continued into 2026, with an average of 36,093 arrests per month through July — nearly four times the monthly average in 2024, according to the report.

The findings point to a shift toward more aggressive enforcement of lower-level offenses, particularly in states that have rolled back major changes to their criminal legal systems in recent years, according to the analysis. 

Violent crime in US fell at record pace in 2025

Voters in nearly a dozen states also backed tougher approaches to crime in this year’s midterm elections, approving statewide ballot measures that impose stricter penalties for certain offenses or tighten bail restrictions.

“There is at this point plenty of time to choose a different path from this one and to kind of redirect ourselves,” said Zoë Towns, the executive director of FWD.us.

The increases in arrests for low-level offenses also come as arrests for more serious offenses, including homicide, robbery and burglary, continue to decline, mirroring broader national crime trends.

Some of the sharpest increases in arrests for low-level offenses were concentrated in a handful of states.

Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada accounted for more than half of the nationwide increase in vagrancy arrests. FWD.us linked the trend in part to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, which gave local governments greater latitude to enforce restrictions on sleeping outdoors.

Meanwhile, California and Oregon, which rolled back portions of earlier progressive drug policy changes in 2024, experienced increases in arrests for drug possession offenses other than marijuana. Those arrests rose 24% in California and 39% in Oregon.

In 2025, Black people were arrested for marijuana possession at more than four times the rate of white people. From 2024 to 2025, arrests of Black people rose nearly 10%, accounting for 83% of the national increase and 45% of all marijuana arrests in 2025.

But the analysis does not establish that the policy changes caused every increase in arrests or determine whether greater enforcement improved public safety.

The organization warned that continued growth in low-level arrests could reverse years of progress in reducing incarceration and racial disparities, particularly as states reconsider criminal justice policies amid ongoing debates over crime and public safety.

Stateline reporter Amanda Watford can be reached at [email protected].