Gang problem in Louisville — still a 'legitimate concern' — has changed, police chief tells state lawmakers | Crime Reports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Col. Paul Humphrey, acting chief of the Louisville Metro Police Department, told state lawmakers Tuesday in Frankfort that gangs remain a real problem in the city, but it's different than year's past.

Humphrey joined Mayor Craig Greenberg on Tuesday morning testifying before the Interim Joint Committee on Local Government about the challenges and successes city leaders face.

"The gang situation is a legitimate concern for us," Humphrey said in an interview Tuesday back in Louisville after his testimony. "It's not something we're ignoring. It's not something we're trying to hide. It's something that's known."

Humphrey said, however, that the gang problem is different than the one "we all grew up understanding."

"It's no longer this red and blue problem," he said.

As of June 18, there have been 77 criminal homicides in Louisville in 2024. The year-to-date numbers — courtesy of LMPD's Gun Violence Dashboard — from the last five years are below:

2024: 77
2023: 75
2022: 74
2021: 85
2020: 52

In June 2023, Greenberg said Louisville "definitely" has a gang problem, adding that about 30% of the city's homicides are gang-related. Humphrey said Tuesday that gangs have evolved in Louisville, that there are now numerous groups that are much smaller. In fact, people can be involved with more than one at a time, he said.

"It's not about specifically saying it's this neighborhood or that neighborhood," he said. "There are people who are in gangs who don't live in even the same parts of town but they happen to run in the same crew. So, like I said, the notion of the traditional, blue vs. red, that's gone out the window."

He said parents in Louisville need to know what's going on.

"The fact of the matter is, they know exactly what's going on inside their home and they need to understand that if they don't intervene with their kids, their brother, their sister, whoever it is, eventually, the (opposition is) going to get them or we're going to get them," Humphrey said. "And you're either going to be going to a funeral or you're going to be going to somebody's court date. And there is no other option unless the person stops their behavior."

Humphrey assumed the role of acting police chief after Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel was put on administrative leave because of how she handled a sexual harassment allegation from a high-ranking officer.

He joined LMPD in 2006 and spent several years as a 1st and 6th division officer in the Newburg and Russell neighborhoods. In 2010, he joined the SWAT team and became the commander of the team in 2017. In August 2019, Humphrey was promoted to a major and was named director of training and recruitment. In March 2021, he was promoted to assistant chief, also taking over command of LMPD's administrative bureau.

Humphrey said Tuesday the city's violence epidemic is primarily surrounded around young people between 15 and 35 years old. He said it's a small percentage of people making up a large percentage of violent crime, and those people are often repeat offenders.

He said technology has a big role to play in helping police with cases.

"We're going to have to be on the leading edge on figuring out how to address this trend in violence," Humphrey said. "And much of that is intel based, right? So, who do we know that's out there committing these crimes? What do we know about them? And how can we make sure that we intervene on it?"

Humphrey said the gang situation is a much different type of problem than it was before. He said strategies to combat crime continue to evolve.

"We have units, particularly in CID — our Criminal Interdiction Division — that focuses on that type of violence and those types of groups," he said. "And every day, they're putting together investigations and gathering intelligence on these groups so they can make sure that they dismantle them and target those individuals that are the source of the majority of our crime."

Related Stories: