Arrests for minor offenses such as vagrancy and drug possession increased in the U.S. from 2024 to 2025, even as violent crime, including homicide, fell to historic lows, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the criminal justice and immigration reform group FWD.us, NPR reported.
The report draws on publicly available FBI and immigration arrest data. It does not track whether charges were dropped or whether people served time.
“This increase signals a really troubling return to some of the extreme law and order policies that defined the American criminal justice system during the 80s and the 90s,” said Zoë Towns, the group’s executive director.
Towns said even a short arrest can cost people jobs, housing payments and time with their families.
Sources: NPR. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
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