Castle Rock and Parker have been named among the 100 safest cities in the country.
The two Douglas County municipalities were the only two Colorado communities named to the list compiled by Neighborhood Scout, a website that collects and analyzes crime, school and real estate data.
Castle Rock placed 32nd and Parker 50th on the list of the 100 safest cities with a population of 25,000 or more.
The rankings are based on population of the towns and total number of crimes reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the past year.
“We have a very talented and dedicated workforce and a strong commitment to public safety by our town leaders, and we have a very good connection with the community in Castle Rock,” Castle Rock Police Chief Jack Cauley said.
Cauley said he believes it’s the commitment to community policing, for which the city recently created a new position, and relationship-building with community members, such as local businesses, that helped earn the ranking.
The town’s data- and intelligence-driven policing can also enable the department to be proactive and get ahead of crime before it happens, Cauley said.
Parker Chief of Police David King attributed the town’s ranking to similar factors, such as using community policing to prevent crimes.
“If you build good, strong partnerships with people, you build trust. And when you get trust, you get people reporting more,” King said.
King said crime-prevention units regularly go out and put on presentations about fraud prevention, identity theft and child safety.
He said part of the reason crime has dropped is because of the bad economy and little new housing to attract vagrants.
