IRVINGTON, NJ — According to the website www.yourlocalsecurity.com, Irvington Township is on of the Top 25 Cities Becoming Safer in America. In fact, Irvington ranks 20th out of the 25 American cities becoming safer, ahead of Flagstaff, Ariz., and right behind Three Rivers, Mich.
According to the website, the Top 25 Cities Becoming Safer are 1, Salisbury, Md.; 2, Riviera Beach, Fla.; 3, Norristown, Pa.; 4, Saginaw, Mich.; 5, Princeton, W.V.; 6, Ypsilanti, Mich.; 7, North Little Rock, Ark.; 8, Florence, S.C.; 9, Dallas, Texas; 10, Easton, Pa.; 11, Baton Rouge, La.; 12, Humboldt, Tenn.; 13, Toppenish, Wash.; 14, Reading, Pa.; 15, Youngstown, Ohio; 16, Eloy, Ariz.; 17, Newport, Ky.; 18, Grand Rapids, Mich.; 19, Three Rivers, Mich.; 20, Irvington, N.J.; 21, Flagstaff, Ariz.; 22, Sacramento, Calif.; 23, Conway, S.C.; 24, North Charleston, S.C.; and 25, Allentown, Pa.
“These cities earned a spot in the Top 25 because they experienced the greatest decrease in criminal activity for the six types of crime we measured,” the article states. “The city with the most improvement from 2006 to 2016 is Salisbury, Md. It improved substantially in several areas, including a 100 percent decrease in arson and 63 percent decrease in burglary.”
The website “looked at FBI statistics for U.S. cities in 2006 and 2016, to determine the amount of reported crime, including: violent crime, murder, robbery, assault, property crime, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson for each city.”
“Rape numbers were not included, because the definition of rape was changed between 2006 and 2016. Cities were not taken into consideration if they were missing any year or crime data, if the population from those cities were below the median population in the state, or if there were changes in the state or local agency’s reporting practices. A total of 3,483 U.S. cities were evaluated.”
Mayor Tony Vauss said positive recognition for his administration’s ongoing mission to make the township “clean and safe” is a cause for celebration for everyone in town.
“It’s everyone working together. Everybody chipping in together to make sure our township is safe and that’s why we’ve been successful,” said Vauss on Thursday, Oct. 11. “And that’s why Irvington’s motto is: ‘One Team One Dream.’ Our dream was to make Irvington safe and clean and we’ve accomplished the safe part.”
But Vauss added that he, Public Safety Director Tracy Bowers and the Irvington Police Division, can would not let a little bit of national recognition stop them from doing even better.
“We still have a long ways to go. It’s always harder to maintain something, once you’ve built it up,” said Vauss. “We’ve been doing so bad for so long that, now that we’re coming out on an even keel, now we have to fight to maintain. It’s like fighting to get into the game and, now that we’re in the game, we’ve got to stay in the game. I equate it to the fight for civil rights in this country. It’s a hard task because, if you don’t pay attention and stay active and build on the legacy that was achieved through so many people’s blood, sweat, and tears, they’ll roll it back on you.”
Irvington ranked in Top 25 U.S. Cities Becoming Safer added by Chris Sykes on
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