by Steven Wright
news@thenewsleaders.com
St. Joseph topped the list of safest cities in Minnesota in a new report released last Monday. Safewise, a home-security company, released the top 100 safest cities with a population of at least 5,000.
The report used the most recent FBI Crime Report statistics from 2014 comparing the number of violent crimes, property crimes and the likelihood of each crime occurring in the city.
St. Joseph, which ranked fourth in last year’s report, moved up to the top spot with zero violent crimes reported in 2014.
Minnesota boasts an overall crime rate that’s nearly 20 percent less than the national average. There’s also a very consistent trend among the state’s safest cities; 90 percent of the towns that were ranked in the top 100 last year, made the list again in the newest report.
Other local cities mentioned in the report include Cold Spring/Richmond, 11th; Sauk Rapids, 45th; and Sartell, 56th.
