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Criminal Justice

children in the balance

Report

Children in the Balance: Kentucky Reforms Successfully Diverted More Kids from Detention, but Now Those Gains Are at Risk

Executive Summary In 2014, the Kentucky General Assembly passed Senate Bill (SB) 200 with the goal of reforming the state’s...

Pam Thomas, Ashley Spalding, Kaylee Raymer and Dustin Pugel | January 23, 2025

New FBI Data

Analysis

New FBI Data Shows No Evidence of a Violent Crime Wave in Kentucky

Recently-released FBI crime data for 2023 shows a slight increase in total violent crime in Kentucky compared to 2022, but a closer look shows that while some crimes went up...

Ashley Spalding and Pam Thomas | October 8, 2024

More Kids Will Be Locked in Kentucky’s Troubled Juvenile Detention Facilities Due to Laws Going Into Effect This Month  

Analysis

More Kids Will Be Locked in Kentucky’s Troubled Juvenile Detention Facilities Due to Laws Going Into Effect This Month  

Several of the most harmful criminal legal system policy changes in recent Kentucky history go into effect this month, increasing incarceration among children and adults alike. House Bill (HB) 5...

Kaylee Raymer | July 1, 2024

Senate Bill 20 Would Allow More Children to Be Prosecuted as Adults  

Analysis

The 2024 Kentucky General Assembly Was the Most Regressive for Criminal Legal System Policies in Recent Memory

More than any legislative session in recent memory, the 2024 Kentucky General Assembly doubled down on harmful policies that will result in longer sentences, Kentuckians locked up for being poor,...

Kaylee Raymer | April 18, 2024

Senate Bill 20 Would Allow More Children to Be Prosecuted as Adults  

Analysis

Senate Bill 20 Would Allow More Children to Be Prosecuted as Adults  

Prosecuting children in adult court leads to harsher consequences and harmful long-term outcomes, both for the children and the greater community. Yet Senate Bill (SB) 20 would make it easier...

Kaylee Raymer | March 25, 2024

image 1

Analysis

Crime Statistics Do Not Support Claims of a Crime Wave  in Kentucky

The sponsors of House Bill (HB) 5, which will significantly increase incarceration in Kentucky by harshening penalties and lengthening sentences for a broad array of crimes, claim that the commonwealth...

Pam Thomas | March 14, 2024

Companion Bills to Automate Expungement Would Give Hundreds of Thousands of Kentuckians a Second Chance

Analysis

Companion Bills to Automate Expungement Would Give Hundreds of Thousands of Kentuckians a Second Chance

Involvement in the criminal legal system, even just once, can have long-lasting consequences that negatively affect social and economic mobility, and quality of life. An estimated 38% of Kentucky adults...

Kaylee Raymer | March 5, 2024

House Bill 5 Would Cost Kentucky More Than $1 Billion Over the Next Decade

Analysis

House Bill 5 Would Cost Kentucky More Than $1 Billion Over a Decade

The Kentucky Senate is now considering House Bill (HB) 5, legislation containing the most sweeping expansion of the state’s criminal statutes in decades. In addition to increasing incarceration, hardship and...

Pam Thomas, Kaylee Raymer, Jason Bailey and Ashley Spalding | February 27, 2024

house bill 5 arrives in senate

Analysis

House Bill 5 Arrives in Senate With Changes That Make It Even More Harmful

Last week, the House passed House Bill (HB) 5, a sprawling collection of tried-and-failed policies that will increase incarceration, hardship and the risk of fatal overdose in Kentucky. Prior to...

Kaylee Raymer, Pam Thomas and Ashley Spalding | January 30, 2024

gavel

Op-Ed

House Bill 5 Doubles Down on Ineffective Policies That Will Further Increase Incarceration and Hardship

All Kentuckians deserve to feel safe in their communities, but sending even more people to jail and prison, and for longer, will not make us safer. And yet, that’s the...

Kaylee Raymer | January 26, 2024

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Criminal Justice News

1 New KyPolicy Website Shows Kentucky’s Incarcerated Population Increased Again in 2022

Screenshot 2023 04 25 213430

2 Local Jails Seeing Rise in Inmate Populations

3 How Legislators, Jailers Aim to Fight Recidivism, Overcrowding in Kentucky Jails

4 KY Jails Are Again Overfilling After COVID Restrictions Lift. Will New Laws Make It Worse?

5 High Incarceration Rate Leaves Most of Kentucky’s Jails Overpopulated. See the Data.

View All Criminal Justice News Items

The Experts

Federal Funding Cuts to Medicaid and Public Health Will Worsen Kentucky’s Opioid Crisis

Ashley Spalding

Children in the Balance: Kentucky Reforms Successfully Diverted More Kids from Detention, but Now Those Gains Are at Risk

Pam Thomas

Children in the Balance: Kentucky Reforms Successfully Diverted More Kids from Detention, but Now Those Gains Are at Risk

Kaylee Raymer

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