Violent and property crimes in Connecticut were down across the board in the first half of this year, while drug offenses where up, according to a quarterly crime report.
The data, released Tuesday by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, shows that two of the three major categories — crimes against persons and crimes against property — continued their decline in the second quarter of the year after falling in 2024. The third category, crimes against society, rose by 5.1% comparing first half of 2025 to the same time period last year, the data shows.
“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,’’ Gov. Ned Lamont said in a statement released along with the quarterly crime report.
According to the data, crimes against persons were down 11.1% in the first two quarters of the year compared to the first six months of 2024. The data is also broken down into individual crimes and compared to the same time period last year.
During the first six months of 2025, simple assaults were down by about 13%; incidents of intimidation were down about 2%; aggravated assaults were down 22%; incidents involving “criminal sexual contact” were down by about 14%; rapes are down about 27%; and kidnappings/abductions were down 0.6%, according to the quarterly report.
When comparing the second quarter of the year to the first three months, incidents of statutory rape fell from 24 to 19; murders and “non-negligent” homicides rose from 15 to 16; human trafficking incidents fell from five to one; and negligent manslaughters fell from three to zero, the report shows.
“Our troopers are on the front lines every day, and the progress in these reports belongs to them,’’ Col. Daniel Loughman, commanding officer of the Connecticut State Police, said in a statement. “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.”
“Crime is going down. We see that trend across the country,’’ Michael Mascari, chief data officer with the DESPP, said in a news release. “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.”
Property crimes in the first six months of 2025 were down about 19% compared to the same time period last year, the report shows. The biggest drops included thefts from motor vehicles, which fell by 32%; theft of motor vehicle parts, which dropped by about 28%; burglaries and breaking and entering, which dropped by just under 32% and motor vehicle thefts which fell by about 29%.
Incidents involving extortion or blackmail increased in the first half of the year by about 23%, while embezzlements were up nearly 28%, the report said.
Crimes against society were up overall in the first six months of 2025, according to the report. This included a nearly 12% increase in drug and narcotics violations and a nearly 29% increase in drug equipment violations, the data show. Weapon law violations dropped by nearly 16% while incidents involving obscene pornography materials — commonly referred to as child sexual abuse materials — dropped by about 30%.
Comparing the second quarter of 2025 to the first three months of the year, incidents of animal cruelty fell from 44 to 34; prostitution offenses dropped from 36 to 30; and gambling offenses fell from three to one, according to the data.
“DESPP’s six expert divisions have a clear mission — to work together to prepare, protect and strengthen our state every day,’’ Ronnell A. Higgins, commissioner of the DESPP, said in a statement. “Every day, this department’s 2,400 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.”
Higgins last year began having quarterly meetings with police chiefs across the state to share new crime data and discuss combative strategies, state officials said.
“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.
