Or, most people (reasonably) do not factor arrests into their phone security threat model at all, and can happily keep using convenient biometric unlock features.
There is no one size fits all security best practices, you should analyze how much you are at risk before deciding what safe practices would be useful.
I’m sure are right about the numbers, most people won’t go to a protest. But I very much want to live in a country where people can peacefully protest without fear of having their digital lives completely by the government.
And a protest is just one example situation of how this can be abused to trample on privacy rights.
Knowing how to set it to require a passcode feels like absolutely important information if you're a political dissident, a journalist with valuable sources, if you live or are visiting somewhere where the police will harass you (or worse) for your private lifestyle, if you're employed by a corporation with trade secrets the government wants to spy on, or of course if you're just a straight-up criminal.
But if you don't fall into these and similar categories, then it seems totally fine to rely on biometrics.
Because this isn't at all a case where just because I have nothing to hide, means I'm cool with eroding privacy protections. The point is that you can protect yourself when you do have something to hide. But me relying on convenient biometric unlocking isn't preventing those who need to disable it from doing so. It's not even making them seem more suspicious, since my iPhone asks me to verify my passcode every couple weeks anyways, or every time it restarts.
in short - no. A broader view of human nature, and the relationship of an individual adult versus the state or corporate status quo .. says that no, an individual person with rights and privacy does not have to acquiesce to draconian surveillance state record keeping.. and asserting your rights to not participate does not make you a member of the criminal "them" class.
Secondly, snide and smug assertions made in public that do associate privacy and individual rights with criminals, might be made by exactly those who are promoting these kinds of systems, for profit.
summary - no.