Gov. Beshear Announces Second Consecutive Decline in Serious Crime in the Commonwealth

2025 Crime in Kentucky Report shows 8.14% decrease in reports of Category A crime

FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 25, 2026) - Today, Gov. Beshear announced that reports of serious crime in the commonwealth decreased for the second year in a row. The 2025 Crime in Kentucky report shows that serious crime dropped by more than 8% compared to 2024.

The Governor said today's announcement builds on recent progress achieved by his administration to build a safer New Kentucky Home, including four straight years of decreases in overdose deaths and two consecutive years of recidivism rate decreases.

"We want Kentuckians to be safe and feel safe in their communities and the progress we're making to stop serious crime across the commonwealth is making a difference," Gov. Beshear said. "I want to thank our brave law enforcement and folks across Kentucky who are making a difference daily. Together, we're building a safer New Kentucky Home for our families."

The 2025 Crime in Kentucky report shows that from 2024 to 2025, of the 23 categories of serious crime, 17 saw a decrease in crimes reported, indicating an overall decrease of 8.14% in reports of serious, Category A crime. Some of the notable data indicates an 11.25% decrease in drug/narcotic offenses and a 15.64% decrease in homicide offenses. Class A felonies involve high-level drug trafficking, first degree rape, murder and arson and generally carry a sentence of 20-50 years in prison.

"The Kentucky State Police is proud to work with local, state and federal partners each day in our shared mission to build a safer commonwealth," Kentucky State Police Commissioner Philip Burnett Jr. said. "Thanks to their support, our people and our communities are better protected, and we're grateful for our continued collaboration."

The Beshear-Coleman administration's top priority is the safety of all Kentuckians. The Governor's public safety actions are creating safer communities and a better Kentucky.

Since taking office, the Governor has worked to improve second chance opportunities and reduce recidivism rates in the commonwealth, which have decreased for two years in a row.

For four straight years, overdose deaths have decreased in Kentucky, In 2025, Kentucky saw a 22.9% decrease in overdose deaths.

Protecting the commonwealth's schools are a top priority of Team Kentucky. In August, Gov. Beshear announced that 1,315 Kentucky public schools are following statutory safety requirements required by the School Safety and Resiliency Act and that the number of school resource officers protecting schools has increased more than 100% since he took office.

In April, Team Kentucky broke ground on the Department of Criminal Justice Training's new Madisonville campus. When completed, the $50 million project will house two buildings - a 42,800-square-foot classroom and administration building providing learning space, offices and recruit showers and changing areas, as well as a 30,625-square-foot high bay building, which will house an open training area, additional classroom space and gym equipment. The recently passed 2026-2028 state budget also allocates $13.1 million to construct a driving track at the new facility. The General Assembly did not include the full $64.8 million requested by the Governor in his executive budget proposal to construct both a driving track and an indoor firing range at the Madisonville facility.

Until completion of the Madisonville campus, the commonwealth is offering basic training in facilities provided by the Madisonville Police Department. As of January, 37 officers have graduated from the Western Kentucky Law Enforcement Training Facility.

The Governor continues to support law and champion law enforcement. The recently passed 2026-2028 state budget also includes funds to raise the annual law enforcement training stipend to $4,746 for full-time officers by 2028 - another all-time high.

Since taking office, the Beshear-Coleman administration has awarded $187 million in grant funding to victim service agencies across the commonwealth. Gov. Beshear has also signed legislation to make sexual extortion a felony and strengthened statutory language to include other forms of abuse and sexual exploitation of minors.

In April, Gov. Beshear further protected Kentuckians by signing legislation to establish the offense of grooming to better protect Kentucky children and hold offenders accountable, to formalize the role of a statewide Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner 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 and more.

More About the Report
The statistics compiled within the Crime in Kentucky report are collected through the receipt of offense and arrest data, which are submitted to the Kentucky State Police by law enforcement agencies throughout the commonwealth. Law enforcement submits their data through the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), which is the standard reporting system for the FBI. NIBRS data are submitted electronically to the state in one of two ways: through the state's free reporting tool, known as KYOPS, or through an agency's own incident-based reporting system. Four agencies in Kentucky submit through their own reporting system: Louisville Metro Police Department, Winchester Police Department, Owensboro Police Department and Nelson County Sheriff's Office. Copies of these agencies' data can be found in the appendices of the report.

The statistics presented in the report are a snapshot of offense and arrest data at the time of release. Reports received after the release date and updates to previously submitted data can affect prior totals. Therefore, data is not static and is subject to changes after publication.