You'll find Michigan's safest city Downriver, on an island

Looking for a safe community to live in Michigan?

Oakland County has seven of the top 10 safest places to live in the state, according to a recently released survey by www.alarms.org, which looked at FBI crime statistics and other factors. It gets better: Of the 25 safest communities in Michigan, 19 of them are in Oakland County, the study says.

But the No. 1 spot went to Wayne County's Grosse Ile Township, located in Downriver. Only one in Macomb County — New Baltimore, ranked at 23 — made it into the top 25.

The list is compiled by the National Council for Home Safety and Security, a national trade association of licensed alarm installers, contractors and other relevant trade groups in the U.S., according to the website.

The survey is for communities with populations of more than 10,000 and uses the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics and its own population data and internal research in its methodology.

The group ranks communities based on the number of reported violent crimes and property crimes per 1,000 people, with the variables weighted, with violent crimes accounting for 1.5 of the total because of their severity, than property crimes, according to the website.

According to the study, Grosse Ile is not only the safest community in Michigan — the community which consists of one large and several smaller islands in the Detroit River — it is also one of the safest nationwide.

"At No. 1 is Grosse Ile Township, a town of 10,123 that recorded only 2 violent crimes and 15 property crimes in the latest year for which data is available," Alarms.org said on its website. "These excellent numbers render the town one of the safest in the nation: top five overall in communities exceeding 10,000 in population.

Next on the list of safe places to live in Michigan is Oakland Township, which the website said is a community of 19,659 that recorded rates of just 0.31 violent crimes and 2.65 property crimes per 1,000 inhabitants.

Six of the communities in the top 10 this year — Grosse Ile Township in Wayne County, Oakland and Brandon townships and South Lyon in Oakland County, Hamburg Township in Livingston County and Flushing Township in Genesee County — were in the group's top 10 statewide survey last year.

Twelve other communities in Oakland County made it into the top 25, as did East Grand Rapids in Kent County and Green Oak Township in Livingston County.

Seven other communities each in Oakland and Wayne counties made it into the top 50 — including Royal Oak, Birmingham and Troy in Oakland County, and Plymouth, Northville and Canton townships in Wayne County. Three other communities in Macomb County made it into the top 50, including Shelby Township, Sterling Heights and St. Clair Shores, according to the survey.

Detroit was ranked 131 out of 134 communities, with Harper Woods in Wayne County landing next to last. Benton Township in Berrien County was ranked last of the 134 communities in the survey.

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The Oakland County Sheriff's Office touted in a news release that it patrols 10 of the top 25 safest municipalities in the new survey, with Sheriff Michael Bouchard adding it will continue to "push back against criminals, train hard, and invest in the latest tools in order to serve our residents to the best of our ability."

David Martin, program director of Urban Safety at Wayne State University, said “people do crime rankings all the time. It’s kinda more complicated.”

Martin, who has been reading crime reports in Detroit for 15 years, said such surveys can be most useful when comparing communities with comparable size, population and demographics. A crime spree, for example, he said, also can impact a community's crime statistics for a certain year.

Martin said one thing is common — crimes occur where there are three factors: motivated offenders, a target or something to steal and security or guardianship — “not police, also neighbors.”

“The best form of crime prevention is neighbors, a whole block looking out,” Martin said.

You can see the complete list of how Michigan communities rank at https://www.alarms.org/safest-cities-in-michigan-2018/

Contact Christina Hall: chall99@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.

Michigan’s safest cities this year according to www.alarms.org

1. Grosse Ile Township (Wayne County)

2. Oakland Township (Oakland County)

3. Hamburg Township (Livingston County)

4. Brandon Township (Oakland County)

5. South Lyon (Oakland County)

6. Flushing Township (Genesee County)

7. Rochester (Oakland County)

8. Independence Township (Oakland County)

9. Milford (Oakland County)

10. Springfield Township (Oakland County)

*The list was compiled after a review of the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics and the group’s own population data and internal research. It eliminated cities that failed to submit a complete crime report and those with populations under 10,000. Remaining cities were ranked on the number of reported violent crimes and property crimes per 1,000 people. These variables were weighted, with violent crimes accounting for 1.5 of the total because of their severity, than property crimes.

Source: www.alarms.org