Osceola has been ranked in the top 20 list of safest cities in Iowa for 2017 by Elite Personal Finance.
Elite Personal Finance compared Iowa cities’ crime reports that are submitted annually to the FBI. They divided them into different groups by population. If a city did not submit a crime report to the FBI, they were omitted from the list.
Results were narrowed based on population segments of under 3,000 residents, 3,000 to 10,000 residents, 10,000 to 30,000 residents and cities with over 30,000 residents.
For Elite Personal Finance to get accurate results in each category, they used a mathematical formula. The total number of violent crimes was divided by the total population per thousand residents.
Osceola is in the 3,000 to 10,000 residents category. Out of the 65 cities in that group, Osceola is ranked as the 16th safest.
Osceola Mayor Thomas Kedley told the Osceola City Council about the city’s rank on this list at the Dec. 19 council meeting, saying “I’m humbled and honored.”
“It’s nice to be recognized,” said Kedley. “ I want to say a big thank you to our law enforcement, public servants, people that work for the city for making our community great and the citizens.”
Other towns around Osceola didn’t fare so well. Indianola is in the 10,000 to 30,000 residents group and is ranked as the 18th safest city out of the 23 cities in that group. Leon is in the smallest category of under 3,000 residents. Out of the 21 cities on that list, Leon is the 17th safest. Chariton and Creston are in the same category as Osceola, with 65 cities total. Chariton is ranked as the 38th and Creston is ranked as the 50th safest city.
Osceola Police Chief Marty Duffus sees the hard work that it takes for a town to be ranked so highly on the list. It takes a lot of community outreach and the ability for officers to connect with citizens in the community.
“There’re only so many eyes that the Police Department has, but the community has many, many more eyes around town. So when they see something and call in to report it, that makes us more effective,” said Duffus.
Being a safe community takes work form all sides.
Iowa’s capital is in the largest group of over 30,000 residents. When Des Moines was compared to the other 15 cities in that category it was ranked as the 13th safest city.
To see any other towns’ ranks or which are the safest in each category, visit elitepersonalfinance.com/safest-places-iowa/.