Submitted by Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection
(October 8, 2025) — Newly released data from the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection show across-the-board declines for crime in Connecticut for 2024 and through the first two quarters of 2025.
The annual Crime in Connecticut 2024 report, prepared by DESPP’s Crime Analysis Unit, offers an in-depth look at crime trends in Connecticut for last year. All three major categories, crimes against persons, crimes against property, and crimes against society, showed declines when comparing 2024 to 2023.
Among the most serious crimes, murder declined by nearly 35 percent and cases of criminal sexual contact dropped by nearly 18 percent, when comparing 2024 with the previous year. The trend continues in 2025, with the Crime in Connecticut Quarter 2 report showing that the count for crimes against persons, a category that includes the most serious violent crimes, is at its lowest point since early 2021.
“This police data confirms that public safety trends are continuing to move in the right direction, that Connecticut remains one of the safest states in the country, and that we should keep implementing policies that will reduce the rates of crime even further,’’ said Governor Ned Lamont.
“DESPP’s six expert divisions have a clear mission – to work together to prepare, protect and strengthen our state every day,’’ said Commissioner Ronnell A. Higgins. “Every day, this department’s 1,400 employees, from the Connecticut State Police to the forensic lab to our telecommunications engineers responsible for our 911 system, are on the job working to make this state even safer.”
Last year, Commissioner Higgins began quarterly meetings with municipal police chiefs led by Chief Data Officer Michael Mascari to share new crime data and discuss collaborative law enforcement strategies.
“The idea is to spot trends, talk about how we can learn from each other, and then use the data to guide us to quickly to address problems,’’ Higgins said.
New data for 2025 in the Crime in Connecticut Quarter 2 report, suggests that the reported decline in crime we saw in 2024 compared to 2023 is continuing so far in 2025.
“Our troopers are on the front lines every day, and the progress in these reports belongs to them,’’ said Col. Daniel Loughman, commanding officer of the Connecticut State Police.“Their hard work and dedication, combined with collaboration with our municipal and federal partners, is what keeps Connecticut moving in the right direction. I thank each trooper and officer for the work they do and the risks they take to protect our state.”
The 2024 annual report also offers a detailed breakdown on trends for specific crimes. For example, the report includes a detailed breakdown of hate crimes, which increased 21.2 percent in 2024 compared to 2023. The report also breaks down crime rates for municipalities across Connecticut.
“Crime is going down. We see that trend across the country,’’ said Mascari. “Here in Connecticut, we are working harder to get crime data and trends to people who make decisions. We are having the discussions with leaders around the state who can do something about crime.”
For 2024, the new numbers show that animal cruelty continues to be a persistent problem, with the number of animal cruelty offenses increasing by 36.7 percent to 164 cases. For the first two quarters of 2025, there were 78 cases of animal cruelty. Overall, the number of crimes against society cases during the first two quarters of 2025 increased by 5.1 percent compared to the same period last year, largely due to more drug violations.
DESPP is also releasing additional Crime in Connecticut reports related to family violence. Reported Domestic Violence Incidents in Connecticut for 2024 and the Reported Domestic Violence Homicides in Connecticut for 2024, are available, along with other detailed crime reports prepared by the Crime Analysis Unit, on the DESPP data website.
