Submitted by Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection
(July 28, 2026) — Despite significant declines in serious and violent crime in Connecticut, a new DESPP analysis reveals resistant long-term trends with domestic violence.
Family and domestic violence in Connecticut remained relatively stable in 2025, with 15,750 reported incidents involving 16,408 victims, 14,445 offenders, and 25,957 recorded offenses. However, as the overall murder rate has declined, the number of domestic violence homicides have remained stable, leading to a larger proportion of total murders are related to domestic and or family violence incidents.
The data in the newly expanded Domestic Violence 2025 report shows:
- Most offenders (71.1%) are male; most victims (67.5%) are female.
- Nearly one-in three (31%) of homicides are related to domestic violence.
- Repeat offenders (1 in 5) account for a disproportionate amount of cases.
- Dating violence has increased by 55% over the last decade.
- Among homicide victims, most did not have a prior history as a victim.
“We intend to learn from this report and take action. It tells us that we need to engage, collaborate, and look for new solutions with our partners in the community, among policy makers, and in law enforcement,’’ said DESPP Commissioner Ronnell A. Higgins. “This is a complex problem that requires many people to take a careful look at this data.’’
The report also shows teen dating domestic violence incidents have remained stable over the last five years, but with an increase of 22.8% from 2024 to 2025. Most offenses are breach of peace (40.6%) or assault (22.6%).
“We need to come up with better approaches. Domestic violence is taking up a larger and larger share of total murders,” said Dr. Michael Mascari, DESPP’s Chief Data Officer. “Many different audiences should be looking at this data. This includes the health care system, public health organizations, this includes schools. You can’t just solve this with more proactive policing.’’
“The Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence remains concerned with the consistent number of domestic violence homicides in Connecticut,’’ said Meghan Scanlon, CCADV President and CEO. “Intimate partner violence homicides are typically preceded by long histories of abusive and controlling tactics, yet underreporting often means the abuse is not known to systems before the homicide occurs. Detailed data regarding domestic violence homicides is essential to identifying gaps in safety and accountability measures.”
“It is critical for systems to work together to identify the signs of escalating violence, know what resources are available across the state to help victims, and find effective methods for holding offenders accountable before it’s too late. We look forward to strengthening collaborations with our partners in law enforcement and the judicial system as we all work towards improving survivor safety.”
West Hartford Police Chief Vernon Riddick said that without good data, “it is difficult to manage what you cannot measure. The creation and distribution of the expanded domestic violence report, provides an additional tool for public safety officials to enhance the safety and security of a vulnerable population by identify the following: trends and patterns, training needs, resource allocation, victim support and prevention strategies.”
