In 1973, there were 328,670 arrests reported by the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) for drug law violations, out of a total 9,027,700 arrests nationwide for all offenses. Also that year, authorities reported 380,560 arrests for Part One offense violent crimes and 1,448,700 arrests for Part One offense property offenses.
In 2020, there were an estimated 1,155,610 arrests for drug law violations out of an estimated total of 7,632,473 arrests nationwide for all offenses. Also in 2020, the UCR estimated there were 482,408 arrests for Part One violent crimes and 871,370 arrests for Part One offense property crimes.
- Table: Drug Arrest Data from 2010-2020
- Table: Total Annual Arrests in the US by Year and Type of Offense
Important note: According to the UCR, "The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program divides offenses into two groups, Part I and Part II crimes, in its Summary Reporting System. Each month, participating law enforcement agencies submit information on the number of Part I offenses that become known to them; those offenses cleared by arrest or exceptional means; and the age, sex, and race of persons arrested for each of the offenses. Contributors provide only arrest data for Part II offenses."
FBI Uniform Crime Reports 1973 (1973 drug arrest data supplied by the National Criminal Justice Reference Service)
Violent and Property Crime Arrest Datasheet 1970-2003. Bureau of Justice Statistics, accessed Oct. 29, 2012.
FBI Uniform Crime Report. Crime in the United States 2020 - Arrests and Arrest Table: Arrests for Drug Abuse Violations. Washington, DC: US Dept. of Justice, September 2021.
