Kentucky Releases 2024 Crime in Kentucky ReportSerious crime decreases by nearly 8%
FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 1, 2025) – The Beshear-Coleman administration takes another step forward in turning progress into prosperity by ensuring Kentuckians are safe in Our New Kentucky Home. Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that overall serious crime rates in 2024 dropped by nearly 8% compared to the prior year.
The Governor said this builds on the administration’s recent announcements of Kentucky securing another record-low recidivism rate and the third consecutive decrease in overdose deaths.
“As we build Our New Kentucky Home, we’re ensuring not only that our communities are safer, but that our people feel safer too,” said Gov. Beshear. “Today’s announcement is a testament to our law enforcement officers’ commitment to serve and protect the commonwealth as we make our communities stronger, our streets safer.”
The 2024 Crime in Kentucky report shows that from 2023 to 2024, of the 23 categories, 17 saw a decrease in crimes reported, indicating an overall decrease of 7.66% in reports of serious, Category A crime. Some of the notable data indicates an 11.55% decrease in drug/narcotic offenses, a 12.7% decrease in homicide offenses and a 13.78% decrease in sex offenses.
“While the Kentucky State Police is charged with compiling this report each year, we could not fulfill our mission without the support of local, state and federal agencies,” Kentucky State Police Commissioner Philip Burnett Jr. said. “It is because of this intense collaboration that Kentucky and its communities are safer, and we are grateful for their partnership in this effort.”
The Beshear-Coleman administration is committed to making Kentucky a national leader in public safety by increasing access to addiction resources, improving second chance opportunities, providing support and enhanced training to law enforcement officers and boosting the economy.
Since Gov. Beshear took office, fewer Kentuckians have returned to prison after their release. In February, it was announced that nearly 70% of those released from state custody have not returned. Following this announcement, the Governor established the Team Kentucky Office of Reentry Services, which works to coordinate reentry services across state government to ensure everyone leaving prison has access to quality second chance resources. The administration also continues to work with employers to provide good-paying jobs to inmates upon their release, further reducing the chances of reoffending.
For three straight years, overdose deaths have decreased in Kentucky. In 2024, the commonwealth saw 30.2% fewer overdose deaths than the year before thanks to the increased availability of naloxone and recovery services across the state. To continue this work, four more counties were certified as Recovery Ready Communities in May for their ability to provide addiction and recovery treatment, job services and transportation to these services, bringing the number of certified counties up to 25.
The Beshear-Coleman administration has prioritized the training and safety of Kentucky’s law enforcement officers. In April, the Governor opened the Jody Cash Multipurpose Training Facility, a 42,794-square-foot facility with a 50-yard, 30-lane firing range designed for officers to learn intensive and specialized training that will support training all of Kentucky’s law enforcement agencies.
On Feb. 28, the Beshear-Coleman administration welcomed the first basic training academy class to Western Kentucky. For the first time since basic training became mandatory in 1998, Kentucky is simultaneously offering training in two locations. Since taking office, the administration has also awarded more than $12 million in grant funding to assist state and local law enforcement agencies with enhancing public and officer safety, curbing the sale of illegal drugs and fighting addiction.
The Governor has championed victims of crime and sexual abuse since his first day as attorney general, and he continues to do so in the Governor’s Office. The administration has awarded more than $149 million in grant funding to victim service agencies across the commonwealth. The Governor 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.
More about the report
The statistics published 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. KSP requires law enforcement to submit 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.
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