Oklahoma reported a significant decrease in domestic violence homicides in 2024, reaching the lowest number since 2017. According to data from the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board, there were 87 victims last year, a reduction of 29 percent compared to 2023.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond commented on the decline: “It is encouraging to see meaningful progress in our fight against domestic violence in Oklahoma. We know that prevention efforts matter, but even one death is too many. We must continue strengthening our statewide efforts to hold abusers accountable and to provide protection and support for victims to ensure these tragedies continue to decline, not just this year, but every year.”
Drummond’s office manages the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board, which works to reduce deaths by examining weaknesses in prevention and protection systems. The board has been collecting data since 2002.
The state had seen five years with over 100 domestic violence homicide victims annually before this drop. In particular, intimate partner homicide victims fell from 50 in the previous year to 31, marking the second-lowest total in a decade. Family member-related deaths decreased from 56 to 45—the first reduction in five years—while murder-suicide cases dropped from 30 to 20, their lowest level since 2018. Child fatalities by family or household members declined as well; there were 16 such cases compared with 21 the previous year.
Drummond expressed gratitude for the work of board members and noted that Oklahoma still ranks high nationally for domestic violence incidents.
This year’s recommendations from the review board include providing $600,000 for specialized trauma-focused mental health services for children affected by intimate partner homicide and attempted murder; requiring annual domestic violence training for law enforcement officers; updating state law so prosecutors can use prior acts of abuse as evidence; strengthening GPS monitoring provisions for defendants accused of domestic violence; and classifying certain domestic violence crimes as requiring offenders serve at least 85 percent of their sentences while adding these offenses to Oklahoma’s violent offender registry.
Legislation related to these proposals is currently being considered. Bills include HB 3763 (annual training requirement), HB 4342 (allowing prior abuse evidence), SB 1325 (strengthening GPS monitoring), and HB 3264 (making strangulation an “85 percent” crime).
Gentner Drummond serves as Oklahoma’s Attorney General. He focuses on combating crime—including supporting tougher laws against serious offenses—ensuring government transparency, working on tribal relations, advocating for policies benefiting sectors like energy and education, and collaborating with partners at different levels of government (official biography). Drummond brings nearly three decades of legal experience along with military service as a U.S. Air Force pilot (official website).
