Hartselle recognized as one of safest cities in state
Hartselle is one of the safest cities in the state, according to a report released Feb. 18 by SafeWise.com.
To compile the report, SafeWise used the most recent crime data from 2012 to analyze and rank cities with minimum populations of 5,000 people.
Crimes were analyzed from Part 1 of the FBI Unified Crime Report (UCR), which focuses on violent crimes (aggravated assault, forcible rape, murder and robbery) and property crimes (arson, burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft). From There, SafeWise calculated the chances of these crimes happening out of one thousand in order to level the playing field for cities of varying populations. From all of the state’s cities, SafeWise narrowed the list down to 30 and assigned rankings, according to data provided by the FBI’s UCR report.
Hartselle is listed at No. 30 with 1.46 violent crimes per 1,000 residents and 27.81 property crimes per 1,000.
Margaret was ranked first with .22 violent crimes and 6.68 property crimes per 1,000 residents.
“Our safest cities report is used by many first-time homebuyers, apartment hunters and travelers to determine the safest places to buy, rent and stay in Alabama,” said Eli Bishop, SafeWise press liaison. “These cities deserve recognition for the efforts of their citizens, police departments and local and state government to make Alabama a great place to live.”
“It’s a great honor for our community,” said Hartselle Police Chief Ron Puckett, “and it underscores the fact that most of our citizens respect and obey the law and place a high priority on strong family values. The police department enforces the law, but it is the good choices citizens make that makes our job easy and keeps our city safe.”
“Getting a report like this means a lot to me and should mean a lot to our citizens,” said Hartselle Mayor Don Hall. “It’s our calling card, it’s what the City of Southern Hospitality is all about.”
SafeWise.com is a community-focused security organizations made up of home security experts with more than 75 years of combined industry experience.