While other states are seeing a rise in officer-involved shootings, Utah’s capital city is making headlines for avoiding lethal force whenever possible. The Salt Lake City Police Department adopted a de-escalation policy and re-trained officers to employ alternative tactics during confrontations. The result was zero SLCPD officer-involved shootings in nearly two years. Between June 2016 and May 2017, there were thirty-seven instances where officers were able to de-escalate a situation instead of pulling out their weapons.
“The Salt Lake City Police Department is probably one of the leading agencies in the country as far as how we train and use these tactics to de-escalate and save lives,” Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown told local TV station KSTU.
Although Salt Lake didn’t make our safest cities list, the twenty cities that did make the cut exemplify the same commitment to keeping both residents and law enforcement safe. Seventeen of our cities are repeats from last year’s list, with four holding onto the same spot for the second year in a row. Plus, almost every city we’ve recognized is below the national and state averages for both violent and property crimes.
Utah has the ninth-lowest violent crime rate in the country, and these communities help us understand why. Of the cities on our list, 90% reported fewer than twenty-five total violent crimes, according to the FBI’s most recent data. In addition, there was only one murder reported among all twenty cities.
The Beehive State doesn’t rank as well for property crime, coming in at forty-three nationally; however, 65% of our cities had 200 or fewer total property crimes. That number is impressive, especially considering that fifteen of these cities have populations of over 10,000 residents.
Wherever you live in Utah, you can count on the fact that your state takes crime prevention seriously. Check out the list below to find out if your Utah hometown made the cut this year, and then discover what you can do to make a difference. Also bookmark our Utah Safety Directory to help you keep tabs on the latest home security, crime prevention, and disaster resources in your state.
How We Chose the Safest Cities in Utah
To identify the 20 safest cities in Utah, we reviewed the most recent FBI Crime Report statistics from 2014, along with population data. We eliminated all cities with fewer than 3,000 residents as well as any cities that failed to submit a complete crime report to the FBI.
From there, we evaluated the remaining cities. We narrowed it down based on the number of reported violent crimes (aggravated assault, murder, rape, and robbery) and property crimes (burglary, arson, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft) in each city. To further level the playing field, we calculated the likelihood of these crimes occurring out of 1,000 people in each city.
Learn more about how we rank our Safest Cities reports.
1. Lone Peak ↑
Previous rank: 3
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.25
Property Crimes per 1,000: 5.99
2. Smithfield ↓
Previous rank: 1
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.26
Property Crimes per 1,000: 6.15
3. Kaysville ↑
Previous rank: Not Ranked
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.40
Property Crimes per 1,000: 0.00
4. Pleasant Grove ↔
Previous rank: 4
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.47
Property Crimes per 1,000: 6.93
5. Saratoga Springs ↔
Previous rank: 5
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.53
Property Crimes per 1,000: 7.62
6. Santa Clara/Ivins ↓
Previous rank: 2
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.20
Property Crimes per 1,000: 8.97
7. Santaquin/Genola ↓
Previous rank: 6
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.17
Property Crimes per 1,000: 10.04
8. Salem ↑
Previous rank: 10
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.54
Property Crimes per 1,000: 9.94
9. Mapleton ↔
Previous rank: 9
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.00
Property Crimes per 1,000: 11.03
10. Spanish Fork ↑
Previous rank: 15
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.31
Property Crimes per 1,000: 10.98
11. Lehi ↑
Previous rank: 16
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.85
Property Crimes per 1,000: 11.00
12. Pleasant View ↑
Previous rank: Not ranked
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.31
Property Crimes per 1,000: 10.67
13. Clinton ↔
Previous rank: 13
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.52
Property Crimes per 1,000: 12.09
14. Syracuse ↓
Previous rank: 8
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.59
Property Crimes per 1,000: 12.17
15. Bluffdale ↑
Previous rank: 19
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.57
Property Crimes per 1,000: 12.96
16. Enoch ↑
Previous rank: 17
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 3.88
Property Crimes per 1,000: 12.96
17. North Ogden ↓
Previous rank: 11
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.09
Property Crimes per 1,000: 13.06
18. Mount Pleasant ↑
Previous rank: 21
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.51
Property Crimes per 1,000: 12.67
19. Grantsville ↓
Previous rank: 7
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.29
Property Crimes per 1,000: 13.90
20. Hurricane ↓
Previous rank: 18
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.63
Property Crimes per 1,000: 15.17
How Safe is Your Home?
Wherever you live, feeling safe in your home can bring greater peace of mind and happiness. Whether your city made our list or not, we recommend adding extra security to your home with monitored security services provided by the nation’s leading home security providers.
To learn more about the home security options available to you, check out SafeWise’s picks for Best Home Security Systems of 2018 or select the city nearest you from the menu below.
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