The Impacts of Arrest Lessons from Research While sometimes arrest is necessary, in some cases it may not be. Police are in an important position of authority to make this determination and should consider its consequences. Costs to the Criminal Justice System Consider the costs weighed The United States spends $ against benefits. Despite these approximately $80 billion 80 billion costs, there is little empirical on corrections annually, evidence that arrests for including detention center, misdemeanor offenses reduce prison, jail, parole, and probation serious crimes or recidivism. Failure to address expenditures.1 By considering causes of criminal behavior may lead to a alternatives to arrest, this revolving door of arrest. amount could potentially be significantly lowered. An average arrest, including search, transport to booking facility, Over $22.1 billion was spent $ evidence collection, and on jails in 2011.2 By lowering 22.1 completing a case report can the number of arrests, these billion take two hours or longer. costs to the community can Diverting a low-level or be significantly reduced. non-violent offender takes less than 30 minutes.3 Long-term Collateral Consequences for Arrestee Arrest can have adverse consequences— Education – Arrested juveniles are 22 percent with or without a conviction—that perpetuate more likely to drop out of school compared to criminal activity. their non-arrested counterparts. The likelihood of arrested juveniles enrolling in a four-year college Housing – Millions of Americans was 16 percent lower than non-arrestees.6 who have been convicted of a misdemeanor or arrested but % never convicted of an offense, 22 more likely can be excluded from public housing based to drop out on their criminal record.4 of school $ less Employment – Individuals 2,000 per year The negative consequences listed who were previously arrested, % more likely disproportionately affect certain populations but not convicted earned 8 to be in poverty such as juveniles, racial and ethnic minorities, $2,000 less per year, on average, and were and individuals with mental illness or 8 percent more likely to be in poverty than behavioral issues. those who had never been arrested.5 1. Saneta deVuono-Powell, Chris Schweidler, Alicia Walters, and Azadeh Zohrabi, Who Pays? The True Cost of Incarceration on Families (Oakland, CA: Ella Baker Center, Forward Together, Research Action Design, 2015). 2. Tracey Kyckelhahn, Local Government Corrections Expenditures, FY 2005-2011 (Washington, DC: Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2013). 3. Josephine D. Korchmaros, Tucson Police Department Deflection Program: 6 Month Evaluation Findings (University of Arizona Southwest Institute for Research on Women, 2019). 4. Corinne A. Carey, “No Second Chance: People with Criminal Records Denied Access to Public Housing,” University of Toledo Law Review 36 (2005): 545-594. 5. Gary Fields and John R. Emshwiller, “As Arrest Records Rise, Americans Find Consequences Can Last a Lifetime,” The Wall Street Journal, August 18, 2014. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-arrest-records-rise-americans-find-consequences-can-last-a-lifetime-1408415402. 6. David S. Kirk and Robert J. Sampson, “Juvenile Arrest and Collateral Educational Damage in Page 2 of 12 the Transition to Adulthood,” Sociology of Education 86, 1 (2013): 36-62. continued Key Takeaways for Police Agencies The impacts of arrest are multidimensional, By considering alternatives to arrest, law occurring at the agency, the officer, enforcement agencies have the potential to: the community, and the individual level. w Prioritize available time to Through community crime prevention activity. partnership-based arrest w Target violent crime rather than alternative programs, low-level nuisance calls. an agency can focus more resources on community caretaking w Reduce crime and recidivism. functions, officers spend less time on report- w Improve individual health writing and other time-consuming arrest-related outcomes by referral to tasks, the community can focus on quality of treatment, counseling, life factors in partnership with the police, and and other community the individual is provided with the opportunity services to low-level or to address underlying concerns that may have non-violent offenders. been the impetus for criminal activity. w Enhance public trust by redirecting officer time previously spent on arrests towards The collateral consequences community-policing activities. of arrest often outweigh the formal penalties imposed Police are the gatekeepers in upon arrestee contact the process of arrest and its with the police and may collateral consequences. While include negative impacts sometimes arrest might be related to employment, education, and housing. the best solution, other times it might not be. This publication is one in a series and is based on a literature review examining the factors associated with arrest and alternatives to arrest. To access the full literature review and more information and resources from the IACP/UC Center for Police Research and Policy, please visit: [email protected] theIACP.org/research 800.THE.IACP International Association of Chiefs of Police Funded by Arnold Ventures, the IACP/UC Center for Police Research and Policy brings together renowned scholars, current and former police executives, programmatic staff, and dedicated researchers to conduct cutting-edge research and share findings with law enforcement leaders around the world. Disclaimer – The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the funder. Additionally, the information and opinions presented in this document do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the IACP..