Safest Cities 2009

The report ranks 393 American cities in six different crime areas -- murder, rape, burglary, robbery, aggravated assault and motor vehicle theft. The end result of these rankings were used to compile the list of the safest cities in America.

The good news is there were fewer reported crimes over the past year. Crime in the U.S., according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI), show 1.38 million violent crimes and 9.76 million property crimes reported to the police. That may seem like a lot, but incidents were down 1.9 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively. In addition, the rate per 100,000 persons decreased from 2007 to 2008 by 2.7 percent for reported violent crime and 1.6 percent for reported property crime.

Below we list the 15 safest cities. Did your town make the list?

1. Colonie, N.Y.
Moving up from 10th safest last year, Colonie takes the top spot for 2009. Its crime rate is 83.27% below the national average. They were tied for first for the fewest murders with 0. Colonie also had the fewest rapes in the country, with just 1.3 per population of 100,000, fewest incidents of aggrevated assault and fourth fewest incidents of car theft.

2. Amherst, N.Y.
Amhert moved up from 7th safest last year. Its crime rate is 82.14% below the national average.

3. Mission Viejo, Calif.
Mission Viejo dropped a spot from 2nd safest last year. Its crime rate is 81.03% below the national average.

4. Irvine, Calif.
Irvine moved up from 11th safest last year. Its crime rate is 78.91% below the national average.

5. Rampono, N.Y.
Rampono held the title of No. 1 Safest City last year. Its crime rate is 78.74% below the national average.

6. Newton, Mass.
Newton dropped two spots this year to come in at No. 6. Its crime rate is 78.42% below the national average.

7. Clarkstown, N.Y.
Clarkstown dropped a spot from 6th safest last year. Its crime rate is 77.97% below the national average.

8. Brick Township, N.J.
Brick Township dropped from the 5th safest last year. Its crime rate is 76.71% below the national average.

9. Allen, Texas
Allen stays steady at its 9th spot this year. Its crime rate is 75.16% below the national average.

10. Lake Forest, Calif.
Lake Forest jumped two spots from 12th safest last year. Its crime rate is 70.61% below the national average.

11. Sugar Land, Texas
Sugar Land moved up the list from 17th safest last year. Its crime rate is 70.41% below the national average.

12. Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Its crime rate is 70.10% below the national average.

13. Chino Hills, Calif.
Chino Hills stays steady at its 13th spot this year. Its crime rate is 70.03% below the national average.

14. O'Fallon, Mo.
O' Fallon fell all the way from it's No. 3 spot last year. Its crime rate is 69.97% below the national average.

15. Centennial, Colo.
Its crime rate is 69.37% below the national average.

Related Lists
· Most Dangerous Cities
· 20 Safest States
· 20 Most Dangerous States
· Best Places to Retire
· 25 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods
· Healthiest States

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CQ Press's City Crime Rankings 2009–2010 analyzes the latest (2008) FBI crime statistics for U.S. metropolitan areas and cities with populations of 75,000 or more. To be included in this edition, cities must have reported crime data to the FBI for 2008; metropolitan areas must have met two criteria: first, their central city or cities must have submitted twelve months of data in 2008, and second, at least 75 percent of all law enforcement agencies located in a specific metro area must have reported crime statistics for 2008. (The cities and metro areas not meeting these requirements were excluded from this edition of City Crime Rankings.)