Amid Mounting Harms, Kentucky Is Ramping Up Anti-Immigrant Enforcement
A year in to the Trump presidency, the administration’s mass deportation effort has resulted in a historic high of 68,990...
Criminal Justice
ICE Arrests Are Surging in Kentucky as Local Law Enforcement Joins Troubling Mass Deportation Effort
Anti-immigration enforcement has ramped up since the inauguration in January, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arresting more than 1,000 people per day on average nationally and locking up nearly...
FBI Data Shows Violent Crime Dropped in Kentucky Last Year and Is Now Below Pre-Pandemic Levels
New FBI crime data shows violent crime in Kentucky dropped by 6.3% between 2023 and 2024 and is now 0.9% lower than it was in 2019 before a spike in...
One Year Of House Bill 5: Hundreds of Unhoused Kentuckians Have Been Cited for ‘Unlawful Camping’
One year after 2024’s House Bill (HB) 5 went into effect, the harms of the sweeping legislation that made Kentucky one of the first states to ban street camping are already...
The Hidden Web of Criminal Legal System Fines and Fees in Kentucky
Thousands of provisions in Kentucky state law, and untold local ordinances, make up a vast, hidden web of criminal legal system fines and fees that trap many people in a...
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 juvenile justice system. The bill accomplished many of its primary...
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...
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...
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,...
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...