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What are the safest big cities in Colorado?
First, it’s important to settle on a definition for “big” – and the folks at the website ValuePenguin, which recently published a study entitled “2015 Safest Places in Colorado,” settled on a fairly modest number: a population of 20,000 or above.
The communities that finished in the top ten are mostly suburbs in the metro area and northern Colorado. Sorry, Denver, Colorado Springs and Boulder: Not good enough.
We’ve also included the methodology for the study, which was based on 2013 FBI crime data.
Count down the photo-illustrated top ten below. And to check out the original post, click here.
Number 10: Loveland
Violent Crime per 100k: 150
Property Crime per 100k: 1,665
Crime Score: 1,540
Number 9: Littleton
Violent Crime per 100k: 44
Property Crime per 100k: 1,278
Crime Score: 1,522
Number 8: Fountain
Violent Crime per 100k: 78
Property Crime per 100k: 619
Crime Score: 1,520
Number 7: Arvada
Violent Crime per 100k: 163
Property Crime per 100k: 2,666
Crime Score: 1,510
Number 6: Lafayette
Violent Crime per 100k: 50
Property Crime per 100k: 449
Crime Score: 1,096
Number 5: Broomfield
Violent Crime per 100k: 33
Property Crime per 100k: 1,204
Crime Score: 1,074
Number 4: Centennial
Violent Crime per 100k: 141
Property Crime per 100k: 1,194
Crime Score: 843
Number 3: Parker
Violent Crime per 100k: 53
Property Crime per 100k: 522
Crime Score: 719
Number 2: Castle Rock
Violent Crime per 100k: 45
Property Crime per 100k: 556
Crime Score: 664
Number 1: Windsor
Violent Crime per 100k: 6
Property Crime per 100k: 172
Crime Score: 420
Methodology
To rank these places, we collected data from the 2013 FBI crime statistics by city, which provides the most recent crime data available. Not every town participates in this report and we also excluded towns with fewer than 3,000 residents because towns with small populations are more sensitive to crime score fluctuations for fewer crimes committed. The raw data report included property crimes (burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson), and violent crimes (murder/manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) from all law enforcement agencies that chose to partake in the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting program.
We standardized the data to reflect violent and property crimes per 100,000, to account for population. Then, we aggregated a “crime score” by weighting violent crime at 80% and property crime at 20%. Though property crime is more prevalent, we figured that violent crime is more concerning to town residents. Then we adjusted the crime score for population size, giving more slack to larger cities. Finally, we ranked the cities based on their crime scores.
Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.
