Every state has its fair share of crime, but when it comes to pinpointing the safest city in the Yellowhammer State — Helena, Ala. takes the top spot.
That’s according to a new report by the National Council for Home Safety and Security (NCHSS) of the Safest Cities in Alabama for 2018.
The small Birmingham suburb finds itself in good company of nearby neighbors as Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook and Alabaster, following in the no. 2, 3 and 4 spots respectively
The top ten safest cities in Alabama are:
- 1. Helena
- Vestavia Hills
- Mountain Brook
- Alabaster
- Daphne
- Moody
- Auburn
- Pleasant Grove
- Pelham
- Hartselle
To identify the safest cities, NCHSS reviewed the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics along with their own population data and internal research. They eliminated any cities that failed to submit a complete crime report to the FBI and removed cities with populations under 10,000.
Then, the cities were ranked 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) per 1,000 people. These variables were then weighted, with violent crimes assigned a value 1.5 times (due to their severity) that of property crimes.
