Bristol ranked safest RI community for fourth consecutive year

By Christy Nadalin
Posted 3/22/23

After Bristol, the other safest communities in RI are South Kingstown (also for the 4th year in a row), North Kingstown, Cumberland, Smithfield, Westerly, North Providence, Coventry, East Providence, and Warwick.

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Bristol ranked safest RI community for fourth consecutive year

Posted

Safewise, a national organization that analyzes and contextualizes crime and safety data, has named Bristol the safest community in Rhode Island for the 4th consecutive year.

Metrics measured for determining the safety of each community include both violent crime and property crime.

After Bristol, the other safest communities in RI are South Kingstown (also for the 4th year in a row), North Kingstown, Cumberland, Smithfield, Westerly, North Providence, Coventry, East Providence, and Warwick.

“We are beyond proud to report that we have maintained our status as the safest community in our great state once again,” said Police Chief Kevin Lynch. “I want to personally thank the residents for their unwavering support of our police department, our dedicated town officials and the entire Town Council for their collaboration and resolve.

“A safe community thrives in so many facets and allows residents and businesses to thrive both personally and professionally.”

It’s not just Bristol. Rhode Island overall is one of the safest states in the Nation. According to Safewise’s 2023 State of Safety report, Rhode Island boasts some of the lowest crime rates, with the state’s safest cities having crime rates well below the national average for violent crime (80% lower) and property crime (61% lower).

Like the rest of New England, Rhode Island’s crime rates are lower than the national average. Among the 41 states that met Safewise’s reporting requirements for the past year, Rhode Island ranks fifth-lowest for violent crime and sixth-lowest for property crime.

Just don’t ask the residents…
Despite the good news, Rhode Islanders’ perception of crime is higher than the reality. Some 42% of residents surveyed said RI is a safe place to live (the national average is 50%), a drop of 22 percentage points since the last Safewise survey. And Rhode Islanders are more likely to worry about gun violence than residents of other states, despite the rate of gun violence being 5% below the national average.

In 2022, there were no mass shooting incidents in Rhode Island, down from 2 in 2021. Also, Rhode Island is one of 11 states without any police officer shooting deaths and injuries in 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive. It tied with Delaware for the lowest number of deaths and injuries among suspects. There were 2 self-defense shooting incidents in Rhode Island in 2022, the same as was reported in 2021.

For 2022, the violent crime rate among the safest Rhode Island cities is .8 incidents per 1,000 people, which is 60% lower than the state rate (2 per 1,000). Smithfield and North Kingstown had the lowest violent crime rates (.4 per 1000). Of these cities, 9 reported zero murders, and 3 cities (Bristol, South Kingstown, and North Kingstown) had zero reports of robbery.

Statewide, the property crime rate in the safest cities is 7.6 incidents per 1,000 people, which is 39% lower than the state rate overall (of 12.5 per 1,000).

Bristol had the lowest property crime rate (2.6%) in Rhode Island. As with last year, it was the only city to report fewer than 100 property crimes.

“I want to personally thank the sworn and civilian support staff who have supported my community-based programs, leadership, and vision for Bristol Police Department for the past 3 years,” said Lynch. "I remain humbled to be your Chief and appreciate and value your delivery of service, support, passion, and empathy for others. On behalf of Town Administrator Steven Contente and myself, thanks for making a difference.”

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