North Royalton has ranked fourteenth among the top twenty cities in Ohio this year. That is according to the SafeWise rankings, who recently released its sixth annual Safest Cities in Ohio report. “Our safest cities rankings celebrate communities with the lowest numbers of reported crimes. Nearly every city in our rankings—regardless of the state—reports lower crime rates than both state and national averages,” according to Rebecca Edwards, SafeWise spokesperson. “I’m always pleased any time information comes out that reinforces the great job that our safety forces do,” said Mayor Larry Antoskiewicz. “ Our goal is always to continue to maintain and improve that operation.”
The following is the listing of the Top 2020 Safest Ohio Cities:
1. Broadview Heights
2. Sagamore Hills
3. Olmsted Township
4. Poland Township
5. Rocky River
6. North Ridgeville
7. Clearcreek Township
8. Brunswick Hills Township
9. Montville Township
10. Seven Hills
11. Hudson
12. Hamilton Township, Warren County
13. Springboro
14. North Royalton
15. Brecksville
16. Mayfield Heights
17. Brunswick
18. New Albany
19. Mason
20. Berea
“As Chairman of the Safety Committee, I believe what makes North Royalton a safe community to get positive recognition like this is all the hard work that all our safety forces do 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to keep us safe” noted Ward 3 Councilman Dan Langshaw.
SafeWise is a firm that researches, tests and reviews home safety products. “We contextualize national crime and safety trends to show how they affect you and your neighborhood. We use this knowledge to examine safety and security products and find out whether they’re worth your time. When we find flaws, gaps in coverage, or a practice that makes us raise our eyebrows, we let brands and consumers know,” according to SafeWise officials.
The cities were ranked through the use of current FBI crime data, using the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting program. They also utilize state population through the US Census Bureau to identify the median city population per state. From that they report only those cities that fall above the median. “To identify the safest cities of 2020, we reviewed 2018 FBI crime report statistics (the most recent complete report available at the time of ranking) and population data,” according to SafeWise officials.
The rankings are based on property and violent crime data, which are weighted equally. Arson is not included in the FBI property crime, so it has been also excluded in the rankings. They calculate the rate of crimes per 1,000 people in each city, in order to level the playing field for the various populations.
“There are a lot of factors that play into this rating,” said North Royalton Police Department Detective, David Loeding. “Some of it may be the proximity of North Royalton relative to major cities, as we are in the farthest tier of Cleveland and Akron. However, cities like Broadview Heights and North Royalton are good places to live. North Royalton always has been a good, traditional city to live and that speaks for itself.”

By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer