Gov. Beshear Highlights Kentucky’s Progress To Increase Public Safety

Kentucky has seen declines in serious crime two years in a row

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 2, 2026) - On International Day of Non-Violence, Gov. Andy Beshear highlighted the progress Team Kentucky has made to increase public safety. By supporting law enforcement, improving second chance opportunities, reducing recidivism rates, increasing recovery resources, and removing dangerous drugs from communities, Gov. Beshear's administration is creating safer communities and a better Kentucky.

"Kentuckians deserve to be safe and to feel safe in their communities, and the progress we're making across the commonwealth is making a difference," Gov. Beshear said. "Thanks to our brave law enforcement and folks across Kentucky working together, we're building a safer New Kentucky Home for our families."

In June, Gov. Beshear announced the release of the 2025 Crime in Kentucky Report, which shows reports of serious crime decreased for the second year in a row. From 2024 to 2025, reports of serious crime decreased by 8.14%. This was the fifth decrease reported since the Governor took office. This included an 11.25% decrease in drug/narcotic offenses and a 15.64% decrease in homicide offences.

In July 2026, First Lady Britainy Beshear announced the launch an interactive data dashboard for the public to more easily view data; compare statewide statistics by county and area development district; and gather specific information on offenders, domestic violence shelters and support services, as well as law enforcement-related outcomes. The dashboard includes data from each of Kentucky's annual domestic violence data reports.

Supporting Law Enforcement
Gov. Beshear announced in August that 937 school resource officers (SROs) are protecting Kentucky's public-school campuses, as reported in the 2025-2026 School Safety Risk Assessment Report. This is nearly 100 more SROs since the start of the previous school year and a 130% increase since the Beshear-Coleman administration took office in 2019. The report also shows that nearly all of the commonwealth's schools are in compliance with state-mandated security measures.

In June, Team Kentucky increased starting salaries for Kentucky State Police troopers to $71,000 annually. This followed the $15,000 raise the Governor secured for every Kentucky State Police trooper in 2022 while increasing starting pay for sworn officers from $40,000 to $55,000 annually when he signed House Bill 259. This was the largest single pay raise in Kentucky State Police history.

The Governor ceremonially signed House Bill 5 in April 2026, providing the framework to create Kentucky's first reentry campus and focused on increasing public safety and boosting the state's workforce. The reentry campus will be operated by the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) on the grounds of Northpoint Training Center in Burgin. Once constructed, it will provide up to 400 inmates each year with targeted vocational technical education programs and intensive reentry services.

In April 2026, Team Kentucky Broke Ground on the Department of Criminal Justice Training West: Gaines-Brown Campus in Madisonville. When completed, the facility will support two basic training recruit classes concurrently, with a total of four classes graduating from the facility each year with an average of 30 officers. The new campus, once operational, will bring 20 full-time jobs with an average salary of $60,000 to the Madisonville area.

Since Dec. 9, 2019​, more than 2,900 officers have graduated from basic training from one of the commonwealth's basic training academies. This has increased the number of law enforcement officers protecting the commonwealth to more than 9,000.​

Supporting Survivors
In April, Gov. Beshear further protected Kentuckians by signing legislation to establish the offense of grooming to better protect Kentucky's children and hold offenders accountable; to formalize the role of a statewide Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, or SANE, coordinator to strengthen the state's response to sexual assault cases and better support survivors; and to enhance the state's stalking laws by broadening the scope covered under the law to include social media. In previous years, the Governor signed legislation to make sexual extortion a felony and strengthened statutory language to include other forms of abuse and sexual exploitation of minors.

Since the Governor took office, his administration has awarded $189 million in grant funding to victim service agencies across the commonwealth. This funding allows Team Kentucky to support law enforcement, victim services, and state and local courts to combat violent crimes and seek justice for victims. It also supports safe housing at domestic violence shelters, mental health counseling, sexual assault examinations and more.

Increasing Second Chance Opportunities, Reducing Recidivism
In September 2025, Gov. Beshear announced that, in less than a year, Team Kentucky added 14 different technical education courses in Department of Corrections prisons across the commonwealth. The Department of Corrections currently offers a total of 35 technical education courses across the commonwealth. So far, more than 1,700 inmates have completed at least one course.

In February, Gov. Beshear announced that, in 2025, recidivism rates declined for the second year in a row. Nearly 70% of those released from state prison have not returned.

For four straight years, overdose deaths have decreased in Kentucky. In 2025, the commonwealth saw 22.9% fewer overdose deaths than the year prior.

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