Seabrook, Friendswood Listed Among Texas' Safest Cities

FRIENDSWOOD, TX — Don’t look now, but communities scattered along Houston’s Gulf Coast region are among the safest cities in Texas.

In fact, according to a recent study by SafeWise.com, eight of the top 50 safest cities are nestled within the confines of the Greater Houston area, with many of those communities located south of downtown Houston. (Want to get daily updates about traffic news and other events going on in your area? Sign up for the free Houston Patch morning newsletter.)

That’s right Friendswood, they’re talking about your community, which came in as the 11th safest city in Texas, followed by the neighboring cities of Seabrook, at No. 35, Clute at No. 39, and Santa Fe at No. 40 on the list.

The ratings were based on the most recent FBI Crime Report statistics from 2015, along with population data, and data from the number of violent crimes and property crimes committed , per 1,000 residents.

In Friendswood, there were 0.72 instances of violent criminal activities per 1,000 residents, for crimes such as aggravated assault, sexual assault, murder and aggravated or armed robbery.

As for property crimes like burglary, theft, or criminal mischief, the numbers were 9.14 per 1,000 residents.

Other communities in the same geographic region also fared pretty well:

• Seabrook: 1.77 instances of violent crime per 1,000 residents and 12.16 property crimes per 1,000 residents.
• Clute: 1.49 violent crimes per 1,000 and 14.43 property crimes per 1,000 residents
• Santa Fe: 2.46 violent crimes per 1,000 residents and 13.48 property crimes per 1,000 residents.

Farther north, affluent cities such as Sugar Land, West University, Bellaire and Memorial Villages also made the almost crime-free list.

Memorial Villages, which was the highest rated Houston area community on the list, came in at No. 6 with just 0.49 per 1,000 residents for violent crime, and 7.08 per 1,000 for property crime.

West University, which came in at No. 31 this year — down from the No. 17 rating for 2016 — achieved 0.57 per 1,000 residents for violent crime and 12.46 per 1,000 in property crimes.

Bellaire, which came in at No. 43 on the list, had 1.13 instances per 1,000 residents for violent crime, and 15.26 per 1,000 for property crimes.

Sugar Land, which rounded out the bottom of the top 50, came in at No. 47 with 0.93 per 1,000 in violent crime and 16.55 per 1,000 for property crime.

Want to know where other cities ranked? Log onto SafeWise.com for more results.

Image: Renee Schiavone, Patch Staff

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