Oro Valley Is The Safest Community In Southern Arizona

It happens every time...
Every study on crime in Arizona always ranks Oro Valley as one of the safest places in the State. This time, according lawnstarter.com, Oro Valley is the third safest.They drew this conclusion based on a computation of 2019 serious crime data per the FBI.

Safest in Southern Arizona
We took a look at their data with a focus on Souther Arizona's major neighbors. Oro Valley's violent crime rate is the lowest of comparable Southern Arizona towns. Only Sahuarita has a lower property crime rate than Oro Valley. Marana and Tucson are worse.

Property Crime always tops the list...
... when it comes to crime events. These are crimes like robbery, motor vehicle theft, larceny, and arson. Oro Valley sits at 13.6 property crime per thousand. That is the national average. Oro Valley's property crime numbers are far below those of Marana (23.17) and Tucson (49.54). Also, the rate is far below the state average of 29.63.

Great numbers despite being next to the State's most dangerous place: Tucson.
These are the 10 most dangerous places in Arizona, according to the study.

Tucson leads the pack. The remaining locations are a bit away from here; though Casa Grande is rather close.

Oro Valley's police force has done its job in keeping crime from our doorstep!

Regarding this stellar performance, Oro Valley Police Chief Kara Riley told us that she is "..Thankful for all Oro Valley staff who have a direct impact on enhancing the quality of life for Oro Valley residents, businesses and daily visitors."

Nicely done indeed.
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Oro Valley is ranked safest city in Arizona

On December 6th, the Town of Oro Valley published the following Media Release:

Oro Valley is ranked safest city in Arizona

Oro Valley, Arizona (December 6, 2017) – According to recent rankings released by Safe Home, the Town of Oro Valley has been named 2017 Safest City in Arizona, based on a population of at least 38,000. Additionally, the Town ranks in the 25th percentile nationwide for safest cities. Rankings are based primarily on crime reports, U.S. Census data, and other statistics such as police officer ratio and demographics.

This prompted one of our readers to send us the following email:

No one at Town Hall will ever be willing to admit this but, the primary reasons that the town is statistically safe (from a criminal standpoint) are:

• Oro Valley is not a tourist draw
• It is not on a tourist route
• Oro Valley does not have an entertainment district (e.g. bars, strip joints)
• It is not a well-known location
• Tucson itself is the crime draw
• Crime in a given jurisdiction is nearly entirely derived from the caliber of individuals residing there, followed by home ownership rates (versus transient renters), followed by business sector participation rates.

Another LOVE reader submitted these thoughts:

There is much more to police work and the police department than what is revealed in the FBI crime reports. Additionally, they used FBI reports from 2015 to conclude that Oro Valley was the safest city in 2017.

Additional Reading

The following links are worth reading if you want to understand the perils of relying upon crime rates:

Read the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics: Their Proper Use HERE
Read the FBI Uniform Crime Report Handbook HERE

LOVE asks that you keep all of this in mind whenever the mayor and council attempt to take credit for Oro Valley being named the safest city in Arizona (and you know they will, especially since four of them are up for re-election in 2018).