Gov. Andy Beshear marked the International Day of Non-Violence by highlighting Kentucky's progress on public safety, pointing to two consecutive years of declining serious crime reports.
According to the 2025 Crime in Kentucky Report, released in June, reports of serious crime fell 8.14% from 2024 to 2025 — the fifth decrease since the Governor took office. The report showed an 11.25% drop in drug and narcotic offenses and a 15.64% decrease in homicide offenses.
"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," 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."
The administration also pointed to its support for law enforcement. In August, Beshear announced that 937 school resource officers are protecting Kentucky's public-school campuses, nearly 100 more than the previous school year and a 130% increase since 2019. In June, Team Kentucky raised starting salaries for Kentucky State Police troopers to $71,000 annually, following the $15,000 raise secured for every trooper in 2022.
In April 2026, the Governor ceremonially signed House Bill 5, creating the framework for Kentucky's first reentry campus, to be operated by the Kentucky Community and Technical College System at Northpoint Training Center in Burgin. Once built, it will serve up to 400 inmates a year with vocational education and reentry services. That same month, the state broke ground on the Department of Criminal Justice Training West: Gaines-Brown Campus in Madisonville, which will bring 20 full-time jobs with an average salary of $60,000.
Beshear also signed legislation in April establishing the offense of grooming, formalizing a statewide Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner coordinator role and broadening stalking laws to include social media. Since he took office, his administration has awarded $189 million in grant funding to victim service agencies.
In February, Beshear announced that recidivism rates declined for a second straight year in 2025, with nearly 70% of those released from state prison not returning. Overdose deaths have decreased in Kentucky for four straight years.