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New Bureau of Justice Statistics report details “Heroin, Fentanyl, and Other Opioid Offenses in Federal Courts, 2021”

By Douglas Berman

It is sometimes said that the wheels of justice turn slowly, and a new report provides an excuse to also note that the statistics of justice in federal courts often emerge slowly. This not-so-pithy observation is prompted by the emails I received today highlighting this new report from DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Statistics titled “Heroin, Fentanyl, and Other Opioid Offenses in Federal Courts, 2021.” Still, somewhat dated data is better than no data at all, and here is how the 24-page report gets started:

During fiscal year (FY) 2021, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) made 3,138 arrests for fentanyl, 2,591 arrests for heroin, and 676 arrests for other opioid offenses.1 In FY 2021, for the first time, the number of arrests by the DEA for fentanyl (3,138) surpassed the number of arrests for heroin (2,591).  From FY 2020 to FY 2021, there was a 36% increase in arrests made by the DEA for fentanyl and a 29% decrease in arrests for heroin (table 1).  This report uses data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS) Federal Justice Statistics Program (FJSP) to describe persons arrested, convicted, and sentenced for federal drug offenses involving heroin, fentanyl, and other opioids….

N.1 Annual federal justice data are reported for the fiscal year, which is from October 1 to September 30.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • From FY 2020 to FY 2021, the number of drug arrests the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) made for fentanyl increased by 36% from 2,305 to 3,138.
  • In FY 2021, for the first time, the number of drug arrests the DEA made for fentanyl (3,138) surpassed the number of arrests for heroin (2,591).
  • Of the 28,224 total drug arrests by the DEA in FY 2021, 3,138 (11%) were for fentanyl, 2,591 (9%) were for heroin, and 676 (2%) were for other opioids.
  • DEA arrests for heroin, fentanyl, and other opioids increased from 4,830 in FY 2001 to a peak of 8,258 in 2015 and declined to 6,405 in FY 2021.
  • In FY 2021,
    • 97% of persons sentenced for a drug offense involving opioids were sentenced for drug trafficking.
    • most persons sentenced for drug offenses involving heroin (89%) or fentanyl (87%) had a prior criminal history at sentencing.
    • persons sentenced for drug offenses involving heroin or fentanyl received a median prison term of 46 months, persons sentenced for oxycodone received a median prison term of 26 months, and persons sentenced for hydrocodone received a median prison term of 24 months.