Organization: Timberville Among Safest Small Towns
April 04, 2019
By PETE DELEA
Daily News-Record 4/4/19
TIMBERVILLE — Although it had a lot of competition nationwide, Timberville cracked the list of the top 100 safest small towns in America. SafeWise, a safety-focused community organization, released its list Tuesday. Timberville ranked No. 36. Police Chief J. R. Dodd said that while he’s pleased the town was recognized, he doesn’t put a whole lot of weight in the rankings.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” said Dodd, adding that he doesn’t want residents to become complacent because of the low numbers. He also said that since Timberville is a small town, with a population of 2,659, the slightest uptick in crime can skew the numbers drastically. Timberville had 0 violent crimes reported per 1,000 people in 2017, the most recent data available for the survey. SafeWise classifies violent crimes as aggravated assault, rape, murder and robbery. The town also had 2.26
property crimes — burglary, arson, larceny and motor vehicle theft — reported per 1,000 people.
Timberville was the only town in Virginia to make the list. Lewisboro Town, N.Y., was on the top of list.
SafeWise compiled its list using data from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting program, with the most recent statistics from 2017. Cities and towns that don’t use the program or have a population of less than 2,500 or above 15,000 were not considered for SafeWise’s list.
Daily News-Record 4/4/19
TIMBERVILLE — Although it had a lot of competition nationwide, Timberville cracked the list of the top 100 safest small towns in America. SafeWise, a safety-focused community organization, released its list Tuesday. Timberville ranked No. 36. Police Chief J. R. Dodd said that while he’s pleased the town was recognized, he doesn’t put a whole lot of weight in the rankings.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” said Dodd, adding that he doesn’t want residents to become complacent because of the low numbers. He also said that since Timberville is a small town, with a population of 2,659, the slightest uptick in crime can skew the numbers drastically. Timberville had 0 violent crimes reported per 1,000 people in 2017, the most recent data available for the survey. SafeWise classifies violent crimes as aggravated assault, rape, murder and robbery. The town also had 2.26
property crimes — burglary, arson, larceny and motor vehicle theft — reported per 1,000 people.
Timberville was the only town in Virginia to make the list. Lewisboro Town, N.Y., was on the top of list.
SafeWise compiled its list using data from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting program, with the most recent statistics from 2017. Cities and towns that don’t use the program or have a population of less than 2,500 or above 15,000 were not considered for SafeWise’s list.
