Martinez Ranks Among 50 Safest Cities In California: Report

MARTINEZ, CA — Martinez ranks among the 50 safest cities in California, says a new report by SafeWise, an online safety resource which analyzed the state's communities to find the safest ones. The report ranks Martinez the 36th safest city in California — up two notches from the city's ranking of 38th in the same report last year by SafeWise.

For a bit of perspective, the Golden State has a total of 482 municipalities. The list ranked nearby East Bay cities Danville and San Ramon the No. 1 and No. 6 safest in the state, respectively. Another Northern California city, Davis, landed itself in the top 50 for the first time.

"Overall 86 percent of this year's safest cities are on the list for the second consecutive year," SafeWise wrote in announcing its list for 2019. "And Northern California gained one more city [Davis] to claim 40 percent of the state's safest cities—plus the No. 1 city, Danville, is from the north. But Southern California continues to dominate, with 30 of its cities making the list."

To compile its report, SafeWise analysts reviewed the most recent 2017 FBI crime statistics and census population data. The evaluation is based on the number of reported violent crimes in each city per 1,000 people. If there was a tie, they also factored in the number of property crimes including burglary, and car theft. Cities that fell below identified population thresholds or failed to submit a complete FBI crime report were excluded from the ranking system.

According to the SafeWise analysis, in Martinez, which has population of 38,619 and a median income of $98,102, there were 1.4 violent crimes reported per 1,000 people in 2017 and 16.03 property crimes reported per 1,000 people.

In response to the latest ranking from SafeWise, the Martinez city manager's office provided the following statement:

"While there are many reasons to love the City of Martinez, public safety always remains as one of the city’s top priorities.

"A critical task for city officials and Martinez citizens is making sure the community is a safe, equitable place to live or visit. Individuals and families find their overall satisfaction to include safety as part of their sustained quality of life. They also find a sense of community pride and many demonstrate that by giving back and making a difference at a local level.

"One of the greatest assets the City has are the people who make the extra effort to report suspicious behavior, unsafe environments, and other concerns to help prevent crime.

"Today, ensuring the safety and security of our citizens involves collaboration, overcoming challenges, and embracing neighborhood policing, crime prevention, investments in infrastructure to include public safety cameras, lighting, code enforcement abatement, and repairing streets.

"Safety increases everyone's well-being and it builds a strong, cohesive, vibrant, and engaged community. In appreciation of all the citizens in the City of Martinez, we would like to say 'Thank You' for your help in keeping our great City safe."

Here are the top 50 safest cities in California, according to the SafeWise report:

1. Danville
2. Irvine
3. Rancho Santa Margarita
4. Yorba Linda
5. Murrieta
6. San Ramon
7. Rancho Palos Verdes
8. Folsom
9. Laguna Niguel
10. Aliso Viejo
11. Chino Hills
12. Eastvale
13. Lincoln
14. Diamond Bar
15. Temecula
16. Rocklin
17. Mission Viejo
18. Poway
19. Pleasanton
20. Sunnyvale
21. Fountain Valley
22. Foster City
23. Oakley
24. Cupertino
25. Moorpark
26. Central Marin
27. Corona
28. Thousands Oaks
29. Palo Alto
30. Glendale
31. Menifee
32. Dublin
33. Davis
34. Yucaipa
35. San Clemente
36. Martinez
37. Cypress
38. Newport Beach
39. Milpitas
40. Simi Valley
41. Temple City
42. Walnut Creek
43. Wildomar
44. Orange
45. Menlo Park
46. Lake Forest
47. Camarillo
48. Morgan Hill
49. La Quinta
50. Novato

To read the complete report, visit SafeWise.