FBI Arrest Data by Race and Ethnicity in 2016

There has been much discussion about how blacks are being targeted and shot by police. The narrative is that “white privilege” has kept Caucasians out of prison, while others are arrested just because they are black or Hispanic. Let’s look at two sets of data for 2016:

  1. The racial breakdown of America and;
  2. The breakdown of arrests in America by race and age.

Perhaps this will paint a clearer picture for readers about differences in arrests by race and age.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimate of the racial breakdown of America in 2016 is depicted in the below chart:

Race and Hispanic Origin
White alone, percent, July 1, 2016, (V2016) 76.9%
Black or African American alone, percent, July 1, 2016, (V2016) 13.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, percent, July 1, 2016, (V2016) 1.3%
Asian alone, percent, July 1, 2016, (V2016) 5.7%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, percent, July 1, 2016, (V2016) 0.2%
Two or More Races, percent, July 1, 2016, (V2016) 2.6%
Hispanic or Latino, percent, July 1, 2016, (V2016) 17.8%
White alone, not Hispanic or Latino, percent, July 1, 2016, (V2016) 61.3%

The most recent data release by the Federal Bureau of Investigation portrays those arrested by race/ethnicity. Below is a summary of FBI data (the full report may be reviewed and downloaded here).

Arrests, by Race and Ethnicity, 2016

  • In 2016, 69.6 percent of all individuals arrested were White, 26.9 percent were Black or African American, and 3.6 percent were of other races.
  • Of arrestees for whom ethnicity was reported, 18.4 percent were Hispanic.
  • Of all juveniles (persons under the age of 18) arrested in 2016, 62.1 percent were White, 34.7 percent were Black or African American, and 3.2 percent were of other races.
  • Of juvenile arrestees for whom ethnicity was reported, 22.8 percent were Hispanic.
  • Of all adults arrested in 2016, 70.2 percent were White, 26.2 percent were Black or African American, and 3.6 percent were of other races.
  • Of adult arrestees for whom ethnicity was reported, 18.0 were Hispanic.
  • White individuals were arrested more often for violent crimes than individuals of any other race and accounted for 59.0 percent of those arrests.
  • Of adults arrested for murder, 52.0 percent were Black or African American, 45.4 percent were White, and 2.6 percent were of other races.
  • Black or African American juveniles comprised 52.0 percent of all juveniles arrested for violent crimes. White juveniles accounted for 58.4 percent of all juveniles arrested for property crimes.
  • Of juveniles arrested for drug abuse violations, 74.8 percent were White.
  • White juveniles comprised 64.7 percent of juveniles arrested for rape and 60.2 percent of juveniles arrested for larceny-theft.

Arrests, by Age, 2016

  • In 2016, 92.0 percent of all individuals arrested were adults (18 years of age and over). Adults comprised 89.9 percent of all persons arrested for violent crimes and 86.4 percent of persons arrested for property crimes.
  • Adults accounted for 93.7 percent of persons arrested for drug abuse violations.
  • In 2016, 25.9 percent of persons arrested for arson were juveniles. More than half of those juveniles (57.4 percent) were under the age of 15.
  • Persons between the ages of 25 and 29 accounted for 17.1 percent of all arrestees in 2016.

When comparing these data sets the following stand out about “adult” arrests:

  1. Whites are by far the largest group arrested for crimes (70.2%).
  2. The total percentage of whites arrested for crimes (70.2%) is less than the percentage of “white alone” population (76.9%) but greater than the “White alone, not Hispanic or Latino” population ( 61.3%).
  3. Whites comprise the largest race arrested for violent crimes (59.0%).
  4. Black/African American arrests (26.9%) was just over twice the “Black or African American alone” population (13.3%).
  5. Of those arrested for murder 52.0% were “Black or African American” or nearly four times higher than their population (13.3%).

When comparing these data sets the following stand out about “juvenile” arrests:

  1. Of all juveniles (persons under the age of 18) arrested in 2016, 62.1 percent were White, 34.7 percent were Black or African American, and 3.2 percent were of other races.
  2. Black or African American juveniles comprised 52.0 percent of all juveniles arrested for violent crimes.
  3. White juveniles accounted for 58.4 percent of all juveniles arrested for property crimes.
  4. Of juveniles arrested for drug abuse violations, 74.8 percent were White.
  5. White juveniles comprised 64.7 percent of juveniles arrested for rape and 60.2 percent of juveniles arrested for larceny-theft.

As a law enforcement agency, given these data points, profiling criminals is a must.

To reduce “violent” crimes law enforcement would focus primarily on adult whites of which 89.9% were arrested. To prevent property/larceny-theft the focus would be on white adults first and white juveniles second. To stop drug abuse law enforcement would target the 93.7% of white adults and 74.8% of white juveniles. To reduce rape and arson juveniles would need to be profiled.

While black/African American juveniles arrested for violent crimes (52.0%) is high for their population, it is not indicative of the need for great police concern as juveniles (age 18 and younger) of all races only 8% (half black and half white) were arrested for committing a crime.

A law enforcement model must look at the profile of those who do the crime, if the police, given limited resources, are to be effective in reducing crime.

RELATED ARTICLES:

About Crime in the U.S. (CIUS)

FBI Releases New Crime Stats For 2016… The Charts Are Startling

0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *