Monticello, Anamosa rank among safest Iowa cities

     The National Council for Home Safety and Security announced the annual Safest Cities in Iowa Report for 2017.

     The top five safest cities in Iowa:

     • Number 5 – Waukon

     • Number 4 – Bloomfield

     • Number 3 – Wilton

     • Number 2 – Hampton

     • Number 1 – Eldridge

     The report offers the top 50 safest cities in a given state. The City of Monticello came in at number 47. Anamosa came in at number 29.

     The Council combines data from the most recent FBI crime reports, population data, and their own research to create the rankings. The report was released on Feb. 28. Those cities that failed to submit a complete crime report to the FBI were eliminated from the count, as well as those cities with a population below 5,000.

     The remaining cities were ranked based on the number of reported violent crimes (aggravated assault, murder, rape, and robbery) and property crimes (burglary, arson, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft) per 1,000 people.

     The State of Iowa makes up 1 percent of the U.S. population. The violent crime rate per 1,000 people is 2.85. Iowa ranks 27 percent below the average U.S. property crime rate.

     “Safety has always been an important factor when searching for a new place to call home, but a wavering political system combined with an increase in violent crime has made safety the number one priority for many Americans,” states the report.

     The complete report can be found at www.alarms.org/the-safest-cities-in-iowa-2017/.