CA: Irvine tops list of safest U.S. cities

Orange County Register ^ | 06/07/05 | GWENDOLYN DRISCOLL and MICHAEL DOSS

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

Irvine is the safest big city in the United States, according to an Orange County Register analysis of preliminary crime statistics released Monday by the FBI. Orange is No. 13 on the same list, which ranks violent crime by population in cities of more than 100,000 people.

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

In addition, Irvine and Huntington Beach ranked in the top 20 safest big cities on a separate listing of property crimes.

The analysis showed about 82 violent crimes for every 100,000 residents in Irvine.

By contrast, St. Louis ranked as the nation's most dangerous city, with 2,207 violent crimes per 100,000 people.

"Irvine is a very nice city. It's a master-planned city; there's good governance at all levels," said Irvine Police Department Lt. Jeff Love. "We've all worked together to try to create a safe community."

More at link

[Red Badger]

I would like to see a list of safety based on gun ownership and lib/'conservative governing units........

[So Cal Rocket]

1. Irvine, CA

2. Amherst, N.Y.

3. Cary, N.C.

4. Gilbert, Ariz.

5. Sunnyvale, CA

6. Thousand Oaks, CA

7. Glendale, CA

8. Provo, Utah

9. Bellevue, Wash.

10. Simi Valley, CA

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

That would be an interesting list.

[Nea Wood]

Interesting that half of them are in California!

[Mulch]

St. Louis metro has two very bad areas that distort the statistics. North and East St. Louis(actually in Illinois) are akin to third world countries in terms of crime, poverty, unemployment, welfare, etc.
St. Louis is also one of the most racially segregated cities in US. Guess where the bulk of the crime is.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Heh. :)

[Mr. Jeeves]

Where California is good, it's very, very good. Where it's bad, it's horrid. ;)

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

It would be interesting to see the breakdown of how they voted in the last few elections also. Also a comparison of the average home price also.

[Mr. Jeeves]

"Irvine is a very nice city. It's a master-planned city; there's good governance at all levels," said Irvine Police Department Lt. Jeff Love.

It's also a fairly expensive city with no ghettos (since it's relatively new). That helps. ;)

[dangus]

Thousand Oaks?
Simi Valley?

Ironically, these towns have been made infamous by murders. But its the number of violent crimes, not the infamy that matters.

[Apercu]

The problem with these reports is that they don't delineate geographical areas into wards or suburbs where most of the crime takes place. Any large medium to large city has high crime ares. In St. Louis, parts of North city & South city are indeed dangerous. Downtown St. Louis ie. LaCledes Landing, Soulard, the Hill - to name a few, are as safe as any large city.St. Louis city & St. Louis County as a whole are very safe & a great place to raise a family.

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

"North and East St. Louis(actually in Illinois) are akin to third world countries in terms of crime, poverty, unemployment, welfare, etc."

Had a buddy in 'Nam from East St. Louis--draftee just like me. He gladly reenlisted and became a lifer. "Ain't no way I'll ever go back there if I have any say 'bout it."

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

It's about 30 years old and you are right there are no ghettos. Every community is planned and most have associations. It's a good thing for the most part.

[dangus]

Frankly, reporting crime rates of minor suburban communities like Amherst and Cary is idiotic. Dunno for sure about North Carolina, but Amherst would be in the jurisdiction of the COUNTY police department (Erie county? -- Isn't Amherst in the same county as Buffalo?). Tell me about the crime rates of police jurisdictions, at least.

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

True, the demographics of the larger cities are skewed because of the pockets.

[madconservative]

Cary is basically a (very nice) yuppy suburb of Raleigh. They call it the "Containment Area for Relocated Yankees". Its an area with expensive developments that people who relocated from high COL areas paid too much to live in.

I don't think it is comparable with an actual "city", unless you just call it part of "greater Raliegh".

[NathanR]

Where California is good, it's very, very good. Where it's bad, it's horrid.

Yes. Just look at Compton and San Bernadino.

I find it interesting that even though, Irvine is less than 40 years old, Orange is also on the list and is one of the oldest towns in Orange County. (The county was named for the city.)

[theDentist]

Well, maybe that's because some "crimes" in other states are just "expressions of emotions" in Cali.

[TJC]

Live in H.B. and work in Irvine.