Annual arrests in the United States since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic have dropped by 25%, according to a new analysis released Thursday by the Council on Criminal Justice.

"Adult arrests have not come back up from that 2020 plummet," said the report's lead author, Stephanie Kennedy, Ph.D., policy director at the CCJ. Kennedy analyzed FBI data from 1980 through 2024. Arrest data for 2025 most likely won't be released until next Fall, Kennedy told CBS News.

In 2019, roughly 10 million people were arrested, according to FBI data. That number dropped to about 7.5 million people in 2024.

Male arrests decline, while the share of female arrests increases

Although men make up a majority of arrests, the share of female arrests has increased, with girls making up 31% of

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