For the first time, Kentucky has tracked domestic violence data. Here’s what’s in new report

Kentucky has long had a problem with domestic violence — a 2012 survey found that 45% of women and 35% of men have been victims of domestic violence, according to a new report released Friday, marking the first time the commonwealth has ever tracked the data.

Now the commonwealth will begin to dig into the details with a debut domestic violence report that will set a baseline for police reports, protective orders issues, court cases and other information.

The report was part of Republican Sen. Whitney Westerfield’s Senate Bill 271, which required the Criminal Justice Statistical Analysis Center to collect information from Kentucky State Police, Cabinet for Health and Family Service and the Administrative Office of the Courts, and local law enforcement agencies about domestic violence fatalities; domestic violence and abuse; dating violence and abuse; and protective orders issued within the commonwealth.

Before this report, domestic violence advocacy groups had used a newspaper clipping service to keep track of domestic violence homicides.

According to the report, in 2022, charges were filed in district court for 24 cases of attempted murder and 30 murders ruled domestic violence .

The numbers were collected through area development districts; in the Bluegrass Area Development District, which is most of Central Kentucky, there were six cases of attempted murder and nine domestic violence murder charges in district courts.

For 2022, the report also found:

• Law enforcement officers filed 38,708 JC-3 forms, those required for reports of any domestic violence
• Law enforcement made 8,867 arrests for domestic violence
• Kentucky State Police served 16,402 emergency protective orders
• Regional domestic violence programs served 16,046 people for domestic violence issues.

The report also tracks the numbers of charges filed, the results of those charges, and gender and ethnicity of those filing domestic violence reports.

“Quality data is critical for the criminal justice system as we work to enhance public safety,” Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Secretary Kerry Harvey said. “Better data will lead to more effective prevention efforts and will be a useful tool for law enforcement agencies, courts and service providers.”

The report includes data from the AOC, including the number of emergency protective orders requests filed, fulfilled and delivered.

Domestic violence advocates had long urged the state to collect these statistics in order to see exactly where the problems were most severe. This 2022 report will serve as a baseline so that trends can be tracked that affect programming.

Kentucky has 15 programs supporting survivors of domestic violence. Also available 24/7 are the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).

This story was originally published June 30, 2023 at 4:08 PM.