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The safest big city in Michigan in 2023 again goes to Sterling Heights, FBI says

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STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — The city of Sterling Heights has something to brag about after being named the safest big city in Michigan for another year.

“Very safe, very happy. At night, you can go for a walk; there’s hardly any cars around on the road,” resident and parent Lindsey Dyer said.

It's the sixth year in a row that the city has earned the title.

The most recent FBI statistics show a continued trend of decreased crime in both total property crimes and violent crimes, as well as safest overall for cities with a population greater than 100,000.

“I feel safe in Sterling Heights. Everywhere I go, especially the parks around downtown," said resident Anthony Bollini, who was at the park with his family.

The FBI’s crime statistics estimates, based on reported data for 2023, show that national violent crime decreased an estimated 3.0% in 2023 compared to 2022 estimates.

In Sterling Heights, violent crime went down 19% and 4% for property crime.

"Just completely destroying the national averages. So we already had very, very low crime in Sterling Heights. We moved to a whole other level. Couldn’t have been any prouder of our officers here. We have some of the best police officers here in the state of Michigan," Police Chief Dale Dwojakowski said.

Dwojakowski credits partnership throughout the city.

"You have to be connected and when you’re connected with community people call, they give us tips. When they see a suspicious car in the street, they call us. I mean, that is the secret sauce, that is the recipe to lowering crime: citizens that care, businesses that care, a city council, city administration that supports a police department and then hiring the best cops in the state," Dwojakowski said.

He also took the chance to tout on his team.

"We hire the best. We have the best road officers, detectives, and special units and training officers. So we bring these officers from across the state and we assembled an all-star team and when crime happens in Sterling Heights, we usually catch the bad guys,” he said.

Recent report: Yes, Sterling Heights police really did find an alligator under a car!

Yes, Sterling Heights police really did find an alligator under a car!

Studies have shown a correlation between violent crime and poverty. In community he dotingly referred to as "blue collar, "Dwojakowski acknowledged that.

"This is who lives in Sterling Heights: hard working families. Snd most of our homes here in Sterling Heights are owned, they’re not rented. So when you have that combination of people that care about where they live, they care about their home they care about what goes on in their community, it helps us,” Dwojakowski said.

The city beat out Detroit, Warren, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor and Dearborn.

2023 VIOLENT CRIMES DATA SHARED BY CITY OF STERLING HEIGHTS

City
Total           Violent crimes
Murder/Non Neg Manslaughter
Rape
Robbery
Aggravated Assault
Detroit
12,509
250
420
1,394
10,445
Grand Rapids
1,674
23
121
209
1,321
Lansing
1,553
12
82
146
1,313
Warren
746
6
68
73
599
Ann Arbor
354
4
30
46
274
Dearborn
317
2
18
54
243
Sterling Heights
210
1
9
17
183

2023 PROPERTY CRIMES

City
Total        Property Crimes
Burglary
Larceny – Theft
Motor Vehicle Theft
Arson
Detroit
53,409
4,827
15,630
9,260
477
Grand Rapids
8,554
535
4,045
1,256
69
Lansing
4,999
583
1,789
856
26
Warren
4,202
374
1,559
519
24
Dearborn
3,417
184
1,523
517
10
Ann Arbor
       3,226
209
1,717
162
10
Sterling Heights
2,522
123
1,118
219
11

“Sterling Heights isn’t just a city on a map; we set the standard,” Sterling Heights Mayor Michael C. Taylor said in a statement. “And being named Michigan’s safest big city year after year isn’t just a badge of honor or an achievement that’s only about the numbers. It’s a testament to our dedicated community and police department that work together to cultivate the strong sense of safety and wellbeing we enjoy.”

The FBI released detailed data on over 14 million criminal offenses for 2023 reported to the Uniform Crime Reporting program by participating law enforcement agencies. More than 16,000 state, county, city, university and college, and tribal agencies, covering a combined population of 94.3% inhabitants, submitted data to the UCR program through the National Incident-Based Reporting System and the Summary Reporting System.