Newtown Township Ranked Among Safest PA Cities in New Study

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — Newtown Township has been ranked the seventh safest city in Pennsylvania in a new study conducted by Safewise, a U.S.-based online resource focused on home and community safety and security

The Safewise rankings are based on FBI crime data, utilizing violent and property crime rates per 1,000 residents for comparison. Cities included in the study must meet specific reporting and population criteria.

For the second consecutive year, Cecil Township in Western Pennsylvania ranks as the safest community in Pennsylvania, according to the Safewise numbers. Warwick Township in Central Bucks County also made Pennsylvania's Top 10 Safest list, ranking fourth in the Commonwealth.

Safewise said its rankings aim to highlight cities with low per capita crime and to "ignite conversation and action around how to make all cities and communities safer."

Newtown Township Police Chief John Hearn said while analytics and ranking methodologies can vary, "We are proud of what this recognition represents. Public safety is a shared responsibility, and this achievement reflects the strong partnerships we have built with our residents, businesses, schools, and religious institutions.These relationships are critical to preventing crime and addressing concerns before they escalate."

Hearn said the ranking also represents the department's commitment to the community.

"Our officers are deeply committed to ensuring public safety through proactive patrol operations and a highly skilled investigative team that works diligently to hold offenders accountable," he said, noting that "prevention, visibility, and follow-through remain central to our approach."

Chief Hearn also acknowledged the community's support of the police department.

"We are also fortunate to serve in a community — alongside a Board of Supervisors — that consistently supports our mission and provides us with the tools, resources, and trust necessary to accomplish our goals," he said. That support, he said, "enables us to maintain high standards of service and professionalism." Hearn concluded by saying, "We remain focused on continuous improvement and on working collaboratively to keep our community safe."

(Safewise graphic)

In its ranking, Safewise reported that Pennsylvania's violent crime rate is 5.72 incidents per 1,000 people, which is higher than the national average of 4.43. Property crime in the state nearly doubled, from 16.5 incidents per 1,000 people in 2024 to 30.36 incidents in this year's report, exceeding the national property crime rate of 22.89.

The analysis also found that the percentage of Pennsylvanians feeling safe decreased year over year, from 55 to 40 percent. Additionally, 66 percent of Pennsylvania residents expressed daily worry about their overall safety and security, which is the highest percentage nationwide.

Here are the top 10 safest communities in Pennsylvania, according to the analysis:

1. Cecil Township
2. Hampden Township
3. Westtown-East Goshen
4. Warwick Township, Bucks County
5. Northern Regional
6. Franklin Park
7. Newtown Township, Bucks County
8. Upper Allen Township
9. Cranberry Township
10. Shaler Township

A closer look at the safest cities in Pennsylvania

Here's a closer look at the safest cities in Pennsylvania. For the purposes of this report, the terms “dangerous” and “safest” refer explicitly to crime rates as calculated from FBI crime data — no other characterization of any community is implied or intended. 47 cities met the criteria for ranking this year. Click here to see the Safest Cities crime rates.

• Cecil Township is the safest city in Pennsylvania for the second year in a row thanks to its low crime rates.
• Hampden Township saw year-over-year decreases in both property crime and violent crime.
• Property crime has decreased in Upper Allen Township for the third year in a row.
• All of Pennsylvania's safest cities are clustered around Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, or Harrisburg.
• 60% of Pennsylvania's safest cities reported zero murders.
• Newtown Township, Westtown-East Goshen Regional, and Cranberry Township reported zero rapes.
• No robberies were reported in Warwick Township (Bucks County), Hampden Township, Westtown-East Goshen Regional, and Cranberry Township.
• No motor vehicle thefts were reported in Franklin Park and Cranberry Township.

Property crime in Pennsylvania: Fear vs. reality

According to the Safewise State of Safety survey, Pennsylvanians are more likely to experience package theft than any other crime, and they're more worried about it lately. Meanwhile, general property crime is the least worrisome crime issue for residents of The Keystone State, and it's the only crime that saw a year-over-year decline in the survey.

Here are the numbers:

• 44 percent of Pennsylvanians said they personally experienced a package theft in the 12 months prior to the Safewise survey, up from 37 percent the year before (US 31 percent).
• Only New York residents were more likely to have experienced package theft (45 percent).
• Concern about package theft rose from 47 to 60 percent year over year (US 44 percent).
• 23 percent said they experienced a property crime in the 8 months prior to our survey, down from 26 percent the previous year (US 21 percent).
• Concern about property crime increased slightly from 53 to 54 percent year over year.
• Pennsylvania residents prefer to protect their property with security cameras (53 percent), security systems (31 percent), and guard dogs (28 percent).
• Pennsylvania ranked fifth on our list of the worst states for package theft.