Violent crime in Kentucky rose during the COVID-19 pandemic to its highest level since 2008.
The commonwealth’s violent crime rate of 259.1 cases per 100,000 people in 2020 was the highest since the Great Recession.
According to the FBI’s annual report on crime in the U.S., in 2020, there were 9,820 violent-crime incidents, and 11,349 offenses reported in Kentucky by 423 law enforcement agencies. That covers 99 percent of the state’s population.
- The age group that had the most offenders and victims of violent crimes were people in their 20s
- The majority of violent crimes in Kentucky happened at a residence
- Two-thirds of violent crime victims in the state knew their offender
- Strangers made up an estimated 3,114 of the total 10,651 (29.2 percent) violent crime criminals
- Kentucky’s rate of homicide offenses in 2020 was the highest since 1995
- Kentucky’s rate of aggravated assaults in 2020 was the highest since 2000
The U.S. also experienced an increase in violent crimes in 2020: For the first time in four years, the estimated number of violent crimes in the nation increased when compared with the previous year’s statistics, as violent crime was up 5.6 percent in 2020.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
