The city of Starkville recently received some notoriety for its public safety, which comes ahead of the Starkville Police Department moving into their new headquarters in the coming months.
The National Council For Home Safety and Security ranked Starkville the 12th safest city in Mississippi.
“We are proud of the fact we’re ranked in the top 12, but our goal is to make Starkville the No.1 safest city in America,” said Starkville Police Chief Frank Nichols.
Despite the rankings pertaining to violent crimes and property crimes, felony arrests in Starkville hit a 5-year high in 2016.
Court officials reported 242 felonies in 2016, which represents a sizable jump from the 190 felony arrests reported in 2015.
Petal - with a population just under 11,000 - was given the distinction of being the safest city in the state, with three violent crimes reported per 1,000 people.
Petal finished just under the state violent crime rate of 3.17 per 1,000 people, but reported a higher rate of property crimes than the state rate of 40.98 per 1,000 people.
To compile the rankings, the National Council For Home Safety and Security reviewed statistics from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report (UCR), as well as their own population data and internal research.
The top five safest cities in the state:
(1). Petal
(2). Brandon
(3). Madison
(4). Long Beach
(5). Oxford