The City of McAllen has once again been recognized as one of the safest cities in Texas, based on an independent study done by Bacgroundchecks.org, which utilized the FBI crime statistics and a unique methodology metric to gain a city’s safety index score. The City of McAllen was ranked #23 out 2,929 of the top cities with a population over 10,000, receiving a safety index score of .39. While other cities ranked higher, McAllen is the only city with a population over 140,000 to rank amongst the top 25.
“McAllen is clearly a safe community,” said McAllen Mayor Jim Darling. “The work of the McAllen Police Department should be commended and is one of the reasons that our city is the place to work, live, play, do business, go to school and boasts the high quality of life we have here in McAllen.”
According to the report, the online website calculated crime rates and property crime rates by dividing the crime numbers by the population to get rates per 1,000. They also calculated the ratio of law enforcement workers to per 1,000. Those were weighted with -50% for the violent crime rate, -25% for the property crime rate and +25% for the law enforcement rate. The resulting metric gave the safety index score, with a higher number indicating that the city is safer.
The report also noted that Texas as a whole ranked just under the middle of all states, with a safety score of 30th lowest for property crime rate and 25th lowest for violent crime rate, thanks in part to the higher crime rates of the larger cities in the state.
McAllen City Manager Roel “Roy” Rodriguez, P.E. stressed that this ranking is not a surprise to city officials, as this only supports what actual crime statistics have indicated for the past 34 years: a continued downward trend and one of the most secure major communities in not only the Rio Grande Valley but also, the entire state of Texas.
McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez pointed out that “our community strives to prevent crime and to promote public safety. To this end, the Department expresses sincere appreciation to all members of our community and to the McAllen City Commission for their diligence and dedication to making public safety a top priority. The Department expresses special thanks to the men and women of the McAllen Police Department for their hard work and successful outcomes.”
Other border cities ranked on the list were Laredo #77 and El Paso, #84.