Kentucky crime report shows homicide decreases, more animal cruelty

There were more than 300 hate crimes in Kentucky in 2025, and most of them happened at home or on roadways. 

That’s according to the  2025 Crime in Kentucky report, which was released Thursday and shows a majority of those hate crimes were motivated by race. 

Most of the race-based hate crimes in Kentucky last year were considered anti-Black, making up 67 incidents. The Hispanic and Latino population were victims in the second highest group to be targeted, in 26 incidents, according to the report. 

Other crimes, including homicides and drug-related offenses, decreased in 2025. 

Ethan’s Law passed by Kentucky legislature 

Gov. Andy Beshear drew a line between crime decline and fewer fatal overdoses and projects like the reentry campus made possible by this year’s House Bill 5, through which the Kentucky Community and Technical College System will provide specialized job training to inmates. 

“We’re also building on our progress on reentry, on reducing recidivism, the idea that when someone is released from prison back into society, we want to make sure they don’t commit another crime, and for every decrease you see in the recidivism rate, it means a crime that would have occurred did not,” Beshear said Thursday during his weekly press conference. “By training people, by getting our trades into our prisons…and by making sure that we can place people in jobs as they leave, we are reducing future crime.” 

Crimes with 2025 decreases 

Crimes that saw the largest decreases in the report are gambling offenses (unlawful betting), which decreased by 82% in 2025; prostitution offenses, which decreased by 65%; and blackmail and extortion, which decreased by 61% in 2025. Prostitution offenses refer to a person who “unlawfully (engages) in or (promotes) sexual activities for profit.”  

Crimes that saw decreases in 2025 include: 

• Homicides decreased from 582 in 2024 to 491 in 2025. 
• Larceny and theft — the most common crime in the report — decreased by more than 7%. There were 51,246 known cases in 2024 and 47,568 in 2025. 
• Weapon law violations — dealing with manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession, concealment or use of firearms, cutting instruments, explosives, incendiary devices or other deadly weapons — decreased about 4%. In 2024, there were 3,811 known violations and in 2025 there were 3,667. 
• Assaults were down by less than 1% in 2025. In 2024, there were 49,289 assaults and in 2025 there were 49,081 known cases. 
• Drug and narcotic offenses — which refers to production, distribution, and/or use of certain controlled substances and equipment related to that — decreased by about 11%. In 2024, there were 49,309 known cases, which was down to 43,762 in 2025. 

Crimes with 2025 increases  

Crimes that saw increases in 2025: 

• Sex offenses — which refers to any forcible sexual activity or sexual activity when a victim isn’t capable of giving consent —  increased nearly 11%. There were 4,521 known instances of these cases in 2025, up from 4,078 in 2024. 
• Animal cruelty was up in 2025, when there were at least 889 instances of “intentionally, knowingly or recklessly” mistreatment or killing of animals, which could include a range of actions from torture to neglect. That was up from 778 in 2024, a roughly 14% increase. 
• Kidnapping and abduction cases increased by nearly 12%. In 2024 there were 1,084 known cases, which rose to 1,210 in 2025.  
• Human trafficking increased by nearly 3% in 2025. There were 70 known cases in 2025, up from 68 in 2024. 

2025 hate crime data 

According to the report, nearly 61% of all hate crimes in Kentucky last year were race-based, followed by sexual orientation at 18% and anti-religion at 14%. 

The data generally follows what was reported in 2024, though there were more religion-based hate crimes that year than those based on sexual orientation. 

Other hate crime takeaways include: 

• There were 22 known incidents in 2025 of hate crimes against people for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. 
• There were 11 incidents of hate crimes against people for being Christian. There were six incidents against Jewish people, three against Muslims and three against people of multiple religions. 
• Most hate crime offenders — 122 out of 159 — were white. 
• Most hate crimes in 2025 were assaults, followed by vandalism and destruction of property. 

Read the report

Read the report online here or in the document below.

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Courtesy of Kentucky Lantern