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Three communities in Fairfield County made the nation's Top 100 list of "Safest Cities in America."
According to this newly released crime data analysis by Safewise, Darien, Ridgefield and Newtown are the top three safest communities in Connecticut and are among the safest places to live in the entire United States.
Safewise analyzed the most recent FBI crime report and put together this resource, which not only lists the 100 safest cities in America but also provides insight into crime trends across the nation.
Darien placed first in Connecticut and 54th nationwide when comparing violent crimes and property crimes. Police reported 0.05 violent crimes per 1,000 residents. Nearly 22,000 people live in Darien. And state and local police gathered reports -- sent to the FBI -- of 11 property crimes per 1,000 residents in Darien.
Ridgefield placed second in Connecticut and 61st nationwide based on 0.08 violent crimes per 1,000 residents and 2.84 property crimes per 1,000 people. More than 25,000 people resided in Ridgefield at the time the statistics were gathered.
Newtown, meanwhile, placed third statewide and ranked 67th nationwide based on 0.11 violent crimes per 1,000 residents and a very low 2.95 property crimes per 1,000 of its more than 28,000 residents of Newtown.
Only two other Connecticut localities made the nation's Top 100: Cheshire in New Haven County at 83rd place. (Fourth in Connecticut.)
And South Windsor in Hartford County placing 100th nationwide. (Fifth in Connecticut.)
The full national ranking, and a description about how Safewise came up with its results can be found by clicking here.
On average, 3.86 violent crimes and 24.50 property crimes were reported per 1,000 people in the United States during 2016.
Although the rate of violent crime increased by 3.4 percent from 2015 to 2016, violent crime rates have decreased substantially over the last two decades, according to the Safewise report. For example, in 1997 approximately six violent crimes were reported for every 1,000 people. The reports of property crime have also drastically declined nationwide, with 11.5 million reported in 1997 and 7.9 million reported in 2016.
Some regions of the country experienced much less criminal activity than the national average. Analyzing the FBI report, Safewise discovered the crime rate among northeastern states was about 30 percent less than the national average. Hence, nearly half of the cities on its "Top 100" list are in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts or New Hampshire.
While no community is immune to crime, the cities on the list experienced exceptionally low crime rates. On average, the 100 "Safest Cities in America" reported eight property crimes for every 1,000 people: That’s 67 percent less than the national property crime rate.
Violent crimes were even less common, with over half the "Top 100" cities citing zero crimes of this type.
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