By Joseph Knoop
A recent study has some good news for Zionsville residents. The Nevada-based consumer advocacy organization Consumer Affairs has released new data on multiple cities across the country, and Zionsville has been named the safest city in Indiana.
The information comes courtesy of a 2014 FBI crime report and the Census Bureau. In addition, Zionsville ranked as the 35th safest city in the nation.
Zionsville Police Dept. Chief Robert Knox attributes the ranking to a strong community spirit in both its law enforcement officers and regular citizens.
“The folks that live here and work here are so involved,” Knox said. “I think the people here are generally happy people. Our service organizations, whether it’s the Lion’s Club, Kiwanis, the list goes on and on, they are very involved in their community.”
The Consumer Affairs report ranked the odds of experiencing a burglary in Zionsville as one out of 4,262, nearly double that of the second safest city in Indiana, Ligonier. Zionsville’s burglary rate experienced a 40 percent drop from 2013 to 2014. Zionsville’s police force is also notably the smallest per capita of the top 10 Indiana cities, with only 10.95 officers for every 10,000 citizens. Statistically, less than one crime per day is committed in Zionsville.
“As far as the safest community recognition and a low crime rate, men and women here at the Zionsville Police Department care about the community, and they work hard every day to try to keep it that way,” Knox said. “We’re very fortunate right now considering we’re a suburb of Indianapolis. We can’t just rest on these accolades because it’s a fragile thing.”
Zionsville was previously named the second safest city in America by a report from ADT Security.
According to the Consumer Affairs report, Fishers and Carmel are ranked as the fourth and fifth safest cities in Indiana respectively, with Westfield coming in at seventh.
To see an interactive map click here.
