2 Putnam Towns Among Safest Communities In America For 2017

PUTNAM COUNTY, NY — Carmel and Kent are two of nine Hudson Valley communities named to the 100 Safest Cities in America list prepared by the SafeWise Report. The team at SafeWise analyzed FBI crime statistics from all 50 states and researched each city's public safety, public health and educational offerings to determine 2017’s list.

Kent ranked high on the list, at No. 35 — a big change from its previous rank of No. 105. Here's what the researchers said about the town:

Kent, New York, is incredibly scenic with its sprawling woods, sparkling lakes, rolling mountains, and variety of wildlife. But since beauty lies on the inside, Kent focuses on strengthening its community from within. The town enhances safety through numerous classes given by the public library, like babysitting courses, new parenting workshops, and more. The Kent Police Department’s free Child Passenger Safety Program also promotes safety by teaching residents about booster seats and car seats. No wonder Kent is the eighth-safest city in New York in addition to this rank!

Carmel more than squeaked in at No. 80, having also just missed the Top 100 last year (it was ranked No. 113). The snapshot of Carmel:

Carmel, New York, has the largest police department in Putnam County, and it’s leveraged this large force to make sure its residents live in one of the Safest Cities in America. This police force outdoes itself advocating for the community to get involved in Neighborhood Watch, take Halloween safety courses, enroll in bike safety classes, learn about childcare safety tips, and more. Carmel police also offer tours of the police department so residents can see what police officers do every day to keep the city safe and strengthen the ties between people and government.

In general, northeast Westchester seems to be a pretty safe place, according to this list. For the second year in a row, Lewisboro was named the No. 1 Safest City in America. Bedford, Harrison, New Castle and North Castle also made it into the Top 100 along with Sleepy Hollow.

All of the communities have a population of at least 10,000 in order to be considered.

SafeWise Security Analyst Olga Papadimitriou said, “There is a lot that the nation can learn about community policing, the walkability of safe streets and collaboration between police and neighborhood watch programs to help improve the safety of our cities.”

The Hudson Valley communities on the 100 Safest Cities in America list are:

• 1 Lewisboro
• 13 Rye
• 17 New Castle
• 35 Kent
• 50 Harrison
• 51 Sleepy Hollow
• 76 Bedford
• 80 Carmel
• 98 North Castle

See the complete list of 100 Safest Cities here.

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