Northampton Among Pennsylvania's 50 Safest Towns, New Study Says

By Justin Heinze and Kara Seymour:

Four Bucks County townships are among the 50 safest in all of Pennsylvania, one new study says.

Upper Makefield, Buckingham, Northampton and New Britain townships all made the cut to be listed as some of the state’s safest cities, according to SafeWise, a home security and safety company.

SafeWise said it created the ranking by using FBI data from all cities with over 5,000 residents. Statistics examined included violent crimes, property crimes, and the crime rate per 1,000 people.

Northampton, which was listed at 18th, was noted for its crime prevention efforts and Town Watch program:

Modern housing developments, golf courses, and acres of well-maintained parks are just a few of the perks of living in Northampton Township. A decidedly low crime rate is another. Crime prevention initiatives like Alert Neighbors Program and Town Watch give citizens and community leaders the opportunity to work together to solve community problems, which helps keep crime at bay. As a result, the most populated city on our list reported a nominal 10 violent crimes.

The township had only 0.25 violent crimes per 1000 residents, SafeWise reported.

Overall, Pennsylvania is much safer than the rest of the country, with a crime rate 30 percent lower than the national average, according to FBI data.