For Immediate Release – August 3, 2017
MIDDLETOWN, NJ – Middletown, NJ was ranked as the #1 safest city in New Jersey and the 8th in the nation, according to the National Council for Home Safety and Security’s 2017 report, Top 100 Safest Cities in America.
To compile this report, the National Council for Home Safety and Security, a trade association comprised of home security professionals across the United States, used data from the most recent FBI Crime Reports and local crime reports. The study included 764 cities that met specific standards for inclusion in this ranking.
The average violent crime rate from these cities came out to 108 per 100,000 people, while the average property crime rate was much higher at 1,153 per 100,000 people. As the 8th safest city in America, Middletown has 38 violent crimes per 100,000 people and 754 property crimes per 100,000 people, significantly less than the average rate. The report also acknowledged Middletown’s “many emergency services” and its recent top 10 ranking in Safewise’s 2017 report, The 30 Safest Cities to Raise a Child
in America.
“We are proud to be recognized as the safest town in New Jersey, and once again named as one of the top 10 safest places to live in the country,” said Mayor Gerard P. Scharfenberger. “Our Police Chief Craig Weber and the department’s community-oriented approach to policing, coupled with their proactive policing strategies that target crime, are just some of the many reasons they are so deserving of this award.”
Community programs include child safety seat installations, police youth week camps, Project Plus, Rude Awakening, and the Law Enforcement Against Drugs program which utilizes The Too Good for Drugs curriculum in the township’s elementary schools. The Police Department also participated in its first National Night Out event, a movement that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to help make the town an even more caring and safe place to live.
Crime has dropped for the seventh consecutive year, with index crimes down 13 percent over the last year and 48 percent compared to 2010. Middletown Township Police Chief Craig Weber makes training a priority. The Police Department has been recognized by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) for being one of only 36 agencies nationwide to complete the Missing Kids Readiness Project. In addition, the department focuses resources on preventing and solving crimes, including a designated anti-crime unit to address and respond more quickly to illegal activity.
“Middletown has always had a long history of being known as a safe community, and our officers work very hard to carry on and maintain that tradition,” said Middletown Township Police Chief Craig Weber. “This most recent ranking as the safest city in New Jersey is a credit to the dedication and professionalism of the men and women of the Police Department. It’s also a reflection of the special relationship we share with our community and the strong support they have consistently shown towards public safety.”
The National Council for Home Safety and Security’s ranking is the latest in a growing list of awards the community has received. Middletown was named as one of the top 10 safest places to raise a child in the United States by Safewise in a 2017 report. Middletown has been voted one of the “Best Places to Live” by MONEY Magazine four times – most recently in 2014. The township was also named one of safest towns nationwide to retire in 2015 by badcredit.org, a financial awareness website.
For the full list of the Top 100 Safest Cities in America, please visit: www.alarms.org/top-100-safest-cities-in-america-2017/.