Crimes White People Commit Disproportionately in the U.S.

Crimes that white people in the U.S. commit disproportionately often refer to those where white individuals are overrepresented relative to their share of the population, or where they make up a majority of the arrests or prosecutions. Based on FBI arrest statistics and criminological studies, here are some crimes where white people (including Hispanic white, depending on the data source) have been overrepresented:

White-Collar Crime

Fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, identity theft, insider trading.
These are disproportionately committed by white individuals, often due to greater representation in corporate, financial, and government sectors.
White Americans are significantly more likely to occupy positions of power where these crimes occur.

Sex Offenses

Child pornography, sexual exploitation, and statutory rape.
Arrest and conviction data show that white men are overrepresented in certain sex crimes, especially those involving technology or child exploitation.

Drug Offenses (Use and Possession)

While Black Americans are more likely to be arrested and incarcerated for drug offenses, multiple studies (including from the ACLU and the CDC) show that white people use drugs like cocaine, meth, and prescription opioids at similar or higher rates.
Prescription drug abuse, in particular, has been higher among white populations, especially in rural and suburban areas.

DUI (Driving Under the Influence)

FBI data consistently shows white individuals (particularly men) make up the vast majority of DUI arrests — often over 80%.

Vandalism

Arrest statistics show white people are overrepresented in vandalism offenses, including graffiti and property destruction.

Mass Shootings / Domestic Terrorism (Non-Gang-Related)

Studies, including from the FBI and academic sources, show that white men are disproportionately represented in mass shootings (especially in schools, workplaces, or public spaces not involving gangs or drug disputes).
Similarly, far-right domestic terrorism and hate crimes motivated by white supremacist ideologies are overwhelmingly committed by white offenders.

Notes on Interpretation:

The term "disproportionately" can be interpreted in two ways:
• Compared to population size (e.g., white people are ~59% of the U.S. population).
• Compared to the likelihood of being arrested vs. committing the crime (racial disparities in law enforcement practices complicate this).

Race is a social construct, and crime reporting by race can reinforce harmful stereotypes if not handled carefully. Structural inequalities, policing practices, and socioeconomic conditions also influence arrest and conviction rates.

References

Sources are grouped by the section of the article they support. FBI Table 43A is listed once in full and referred to by name afterward.

General and population share

U.S. Census Bureau. (2021). 2020 U.S. population more racially and ethnically diverse than measured in 2010. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/08/2020-united-states-population-more-racially-ethnically-diverse-than-2010.html (White alone, non-Hispanic: 57.8% of the population in 2020.)

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2020). Crime in the United States, 2019: Table 43A, Arrests by race and ethnicity. https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/tables/table-43/table-43a.xls (Most recent national arrest table by race and offense; "White" here includes Hispanic whites. Whites were 69.4% of all arrests.)

White-collar crime

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2020). Table 43A (above). (Whites were 65.9% of fraud arrests, 60.5% of embezzlement arrests, and 67.1% of forgery and counterfeiting arrests.)

U.S. Sentencing Commission. (2026). Quick facts: Securities and investment fraud. https://www.ussc.gov/research/quick-facts/securities-and-investment-fraud (71% of individuals sentenced for securities and investment fraud were white.)

U.S. Sentencing Commission. (2025). Annual report 2024. https://www.ussc.gov/about/annual-report-2024 (Of individuals sentenced for economic crimes in FY2024, about 40% were Black and 35% were white.)

Sex offenses

U.S. Sentencing Commission. (2021). Federal sentencing of child pornography: Non-production offenses. https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/research-publications/2021/20210629_Non-Production-CP.pdf (80.3% of non-production child pornography offenders in FY2019 were white.)

U.S. Sentencing Commission. (2026). Quick facts: Sexual abuse. https://www.ussc.gov/research/quick-facts/sexual-abuse (65% of production of child pornography offenders were white; 76% of federal statutory rape offenders were Native American.)

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2020). Table 43A (above). (Whites were 74.6% of arrests for sex offenses other than rape and prostitution.)

Drug offenses

American Civil Liberties Union. (2013). The war on marijuana in black and white. https://www.aclu.org/publications/report-war-marijuana-black-and-white

American Civil Liberties Union. (2020). A tale of two countries: Racially targeted arrests in the era of marijuana reform. https://www.aclu.org/publications/tale-two-countries-racially-targeted-arrests-era-marijuana-reform

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2023). Substance use and substance use disorders by race and ethnicity, 2015-2019. https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/784266c8155778feca25050ab9d50996/substance-use-sud-race-ethnicity-2015-2019.pdf

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). CDC Grand Rounds: Prescription drug overdoses, a U.S. epidemic. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 61(1). https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6101a3.htm (Misuse and overdose rates highest among non-Hispanic whites and rural populations.)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). QuickStats: Death rates for drug overdose among persons aged 25-44 years, by race and ethnicity, United States, 2000-2020. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 71(46). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9707359/

DUI

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2020). Table 43A (above). (Whites were 81.5% of arrests for driving under the influence in 2019.)

Vandalism

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2020). Table 43A (above). (Whites were 68.5% of vandalism arrests in 2019.)

Mass shootings and domestic terrorism

National Institute of Justice. (2022). Public mass shootings: Database amasses details of a half century of U.S. mass shootings with firearms. https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/public-mass-shootings-database-amasses-details-half-century-us-mass-shootings (52.3% of public mass shooters in The Violence Project database were white.)

Jones, S. G., Doxsee, C., & Harrington, N. (2020). The escalating terrorism problem in the United States. Center for Strategic and International Studies. https://www.csis.org/analysis/escalating-terrorism-problem-united-states

Jones, S. G., Doxsee, C., Hwang, G., & Thompson, J. (2020). The war comes home: The evolution of domestic terrorism in the United States. Center for Strategic and International Studies. https://www.csis.org/analysis/war-comes-home-evolution-domestic-terrorism-united-states (White supremacists and like-minded extremists carried out 67% of terrorist plots and attacks in 2020.)

U.S. Department of Justice. (2023). Hate crime statistics, 2022. https://www.justice.gov/hatecrimes/hate-crime-statistics-2022 (51.0% of known hate crime offenders were white; 17.4% were of unknown race.)