STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Hailey has been named the second safest city in Idaho. And it’s in the top five percentile for safest cities in the United States.
SafeHome, which ranks and reviews home security systems and companies, cross-referenced FBI data with Census data to rank cities across North America.
Cities had to have a population of at least 5,000 to be included in the survey, meaning Ketchum, Sun Valley and Bellevue weren’t considered.
SafeHome’s findings show that Idaho has six of the top 500 safest cities in the nation. Part of this, it said, can be attributed to the state’s low population density--with 1.6 million residents, Idaho has a population density of only 20 people per square mile.
Even the state capital of Boise has an “impressively high safety score” of 78.57 despite its large population of 218,844, the study claimed.
The safest city in the state, according to Safehome, is Weiser, with a safety score of 96.67. Hailey is second with a safety score of 94.98.
Hailey’s violent crime trend is down 14.6 percent and its property crime down 41.9 percent, according to the study. Its population of 8,112 has a 578 citizen-to-officer ratio. Last year it had 25 violent crimes and 34 property crimes. Violent crime trend is down 14.6 percent and its property crime down 41.9 percent,
Third on the list was Preston, also in the top 5th percentile nationwide. Rupert was No. 4, and Rexburg, No. 5, both placing in the top 10th percentile in the United States. They were followed by Meridian, Payette, Moscow, Mountain Home and Emmett to round out the top 10.
The state overall has a very low crime rate, the study reported, with nearly all of the 25 safest cities in the state experiencing a drop in violent and property-related crimes from their already low rates.