By VERNON ROBISON
The Progress
The City of Mesquite was recognized as the safest city in Nevada by national home safety website SafeWise.com.
In a report released last week, SafeWise showed Mesquite improving one spot from last year’s second place ranking to slip ahead of Henderson as the state’s safest city. North Las Vegas took the number 3 spot, while Sparks was 4th and Reno was 5th.
According to SafeWise, the annual report uses up-to-date FBI crime statistics data to rank cities in each state. This data is drawn from the FBI Summary Reporting System (SRS) and the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), databases of information reported routinely by cities and jurisdictions all across the country.
The rankings are based on both violent and property crime numbers. The company factors the number of reported violent crimes including aggravated assault, murder, rape and robbery – and the number of reported property crimes including burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft.
To level the playing field, the company also calculates the rate of these crimes per 1,000 people in each city. Both vilent and property crimes are weighted equally in the study.
With a population of 21,732, Mesquite saw its violent crime rate remain essentially flat from the previous year at 1.6 per thousand. The city’s property crime rate dropped significantly from 19.1 to 13.4 per thousand.
A statement released last week by Mesquite Police Department (MPD) attributed this improvement to “excellent collaboration between MPD and community residents.”
“The department works closely with the community on crime prevention and detection and encourages citizens to report suspicious activity,” the release stated.
This effort includes reassigning special assignment officers into patrol, as well as a continuous social media campaign to encourage citizens to make themselves a hard target, it stated.
The department is also focusing resources on preventing incidents of elder fraud and safeguarding local seniors from exploitation, the release states.
“This accomplishment is a testament to the unwavering commitment of each member of the MPD,” the statement reads. “Their individual efforts, combined as a cohesive team in ensuring the safety and security of our community, have made this recognition possible.”
Police Chief MaQuade Chesley said that his department is committed to maintaining this reputation as Nevada’s safest city into the future.
“The Mesquite Police Department takes immense pride in this achievement,” he said. “It reflects MPD’s exceptional service and the strong bond we share with each other and with Mesquite residents. As a department, we are committed to the safety of everyone who lives in and visits Mesquite by upholding these standards of excellence, and we will continue to serve our community with the same dedication and passion.”
