Safewise has named Blacksburg the ninth safest college town in America.
Each year SafeWise assesses the safety of college towns by analyzing the number of violent crimes and property crimes in each area. Violent crimes include murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Property crimes, which are considered only if there was a tie in the violent crime rate, are burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson.
Blacksburg moved up 13 spots this year as a result of cutting the number of violent crimes nearly in half to 0.53 per 1,000, 3.96 below national average. Property crimes also decreased to 7.46 per 1,000, 19.65 below national average.
This improved safety climate is in part due to the ongoing relationship between Blacksburg police and the Virginia Tech police force. The two departments signed a memorandum of understanding allowing them to share jurisdiction and resources including radio and security camera access.
Blacksburg is only one of two cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia that made the Top 50 list.
