Bernards Township Is One Of America's Safest Cities: Report

BASKING RIDGE, N.J.— Bernards Township was ranked the 10th safest town in the nation by Safewise, a security and safety evaluation firm, in its sixth annual “100 Safest Cities in America” report this month.

“The honor speaks not only to the dedicated service provided by our police officers," said Bernards Township Police Chief Mike Shimsky, "but also to the quality of our community as a whole.”

Bernards, with a population of more than 26,000, ranked just behind Shrewsbury, Mass., and Bedford, N.Y., because of its low violent crime (0.1 per 1,000 residents) and property crime (3.2 per 1,000) rates. Both scores are about a dozen times less than the national average.

Safewise used FBI Uniform Crime Report data and Census Bureau population statistics to compile the list. This is the township’s second consecutive year ranked in the top 10, and third straight in the top 25 in the country. Eight other New Jersey towns ranked in the top 100, including Bergenfield (5) and Morris Township (69). Despite the prestigious ranking, Chief Shimsky says the work is never done when keeping the community safe.

“Our police department is constantly working to forge community partnerships and to educate residents and citizens on how they can better protect themselves from being victims of crime.”