LIGONIER — In a report released Monday, Ligonier ranks number one as Indiana’s safest city for the second year in a row.

Previously Ligonier ranked as the second-safest city in Indiana in 2015 in a report by SafeWise, and pulled ahead of Zionsville for the top spot in both 2016 and 2017.

The report reviews cities with more than 4,000 residents in each state that have submitted their complete crime statistics report to the FBI. The number of violent crimes and property crimes per 1,000 people are then calculated.

Violent crimes are designated as aggravated assault, murder, rape and robbery. Property crimes represent burglary, arson and theft.

Ligonier came in at .23 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, and 3.87 property crimes per 1,000 residents.

“I think it is a tremendous, tremendous privilege,” said Mayor Patty Fisel of the city’s designation. “The reason we received that distinction is because of the awesome work that our officers and our great police chief, Bryan Shearer, who is a great leader, do. His officers are a great team, and the whole city is a team together.”

“I’m certainly not going to take credit for it, that gets spread all over. We’re really excited about it, and we appreciate the fact that they (SafeWise) actually keep track of the statistics,” Fisel said of the report.

Police Chief Bryan Shearer credits his officers for their hard work.

“It’s not what we do for rankings, but it’s good to be recognized that the officers’ and staff’s work pays off,” said Shearer of the distinction. “It’s a true reflection of the officers and staff, and it’s just as important that it reflects the community. Every community has a police department; it’s important to have everyone involved. I think that’s why we’ve been successful.”

The city has a few practices that stand out.

“We have a business security-check program and a vacation security-check program,” Shearer explained.

Each program has a certain number of checks over a designated shift or time for officers to do a check on doors and windows for businesses and residences. The residence check started 14 years ago.

“For residents, we walk around the house, check the doors and windows. We’ve found utility problems, but at 14 years, it’s 100 percent on (deterring potential) burglaries,” Shearer said.

“It’s kind of just the basics: taking care of folks, protecting property of our citizens. I’ve got a great team, and that’s why we accomplish what we do,” he added, noting the effort is mutual between law enforcement and residents.

“It’s just a community effort — we get to share in the grief and share in the glory,” Fisel said.

Source: Goshen News