By Mindy Ragan Wood
Staff Writer
Piedmont is one of the top five safest cities in Oklahoma for the third consecutive year, Police Chief Scott Singer said.
Piedmont Chamber of Commerce Vice President Joyce Leach presented the award from Safewise during a Piedmont Chamber luncheon last Friday.
“Safewise determines the top 20 safest cities in Oklahoma and this is our third year to be in the top five,” Singer said. “We were third last year and fourth this year.”
Safewise evaluates cities based on Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation statistics that deal with violent crime including assault, robbery, rape and homicide.
“We have very few violent crimes,” Singer said. “Every now and then we might get a domestic (violence) call where an assault is committed but the majority of crimes here are property crimes, calls for assistance by other agencies and traffic offenses.”
Singer speculated as to why violent crime is so low.
“My feeling on this is two-fold. One I think we are certainly doing our job to try and keep the city safe,” he said. “I think that in large part this award is won by citizens. Many of the folks that live in town are the sort of people who respect one another and their property and therefore crimes of violence are at a minimum.”
Piedmont and small towns like it have become a haven for people who lived in larger cities with higher crime rates.
“Neighboring cities like Oklahoma City, violence is a way of life in some of those areas. Here we have citizens who are working for a way of a life and fleeing the inner city from the drive-bys, thefts and violence,” Singer said.
