Ranking at number seven, Essex made the 2021 list of “Safest Cities in Vermont” once again.

Rankings are established by SafeWise, a comparison website dedicated to reviewing home security. Using Federal Bureau of Investigation crime report statistics and U.S. census data, the organization analyzed cities with populations of at least 17,375. The report is based on both violent and property crimes, standardized by each state.

Essex Police Chief Ron Hoague said Essex’s high ranking is the product of the citizens, “because of the people that we have living here in Essex in a partnership with the police department in the community.”

Castleton and Hinesburg remained ranked at one and two, respectively. Stowe, for the first time, made it on the list as the third safest city in Vermont. Milton and Northfield moved up in ranking as well.

Vermont as a whole, alternatively, saw a rise in violent crime for the first time since 2019. Similarly, property crime in the state increased by 11% in 2021.

Data from 2021, however, is not yet available on SafeWise for Vermont’s individual cities. The report that established the rankings is based exclusively on FBI crime statistics from 2019, the most recent year in which data was available. This happens to disclude any trends that occurred during the pandemic.

“We saw a slight increase in property crime because of COVID, and in violent crime, we saw that go down,” Hoague said.

Hoague, through observations of recurring crimes from the past year, looked to see how quarantine affected certain statistics. While the lock down and closed bars had a hand in decreasing violent crime, he said, property related crimes became more frequent during this time.

“We saw more people being housed here in Essex that were part of the homeless population... so those folks come with social issues,” he said. “As we know, that's part of why we saw an increase in property crime.”

Over the last 18 months, Hoague said, property crimes increased in 2020 and began lowering in 2021. Even so, several members of the community recently have reported theft from their vehicles, as well as bicycles that have been stolen.

Hoague suggested working with neighbors, keeping an eye on each other's properties and locking vehicles at night.

“We rely on the public to give us information and cooperate,” Hoague said.

To see the full list of rankings for Vermont’s safest cities, visit SafeWise.

View published article in The Essex Reporter at this link: https://www.essexreporter.com/news/safewise-report-shows-essex-is-among-the-top-safest-cities-in-vermont/article_82f166aa-3b38-11ec-af7a-53992bc794dc.html