Jewel City shines in FBI report

Glendale is among the top 10 large cities in America with the lowest violent crime rate, according to an analysis of federal data released this week.

Last year, 181 violent crimes were reported in Glendale, which has a population of nearly 200,000. That includes one murder, 75 robberies, eight rapes and 97 aggravated assaults, according to the FBI Uniform Crime Report.

Meanwhile, 3,198 property crimes were reported last year, including 563 burglaries, 2,384 thefts and 251 car thefts.

Glendale was named the ninth safest city in America in a report published by 24/7 Wall Street, which analyzed violent crime rates in cities with more than 100,000 people.

“We have set a bar at the city of Glendale,” said city spokesman Tom Lorenz. “When you look at the other cities, most of them are suburban communities. We are the only community in the greater metropolitan Los Angeles area — that is something to be said right there.”

Other California cities ranked in the report among the top 10 safest cities include Irvine at No. 1, Murrieta, Temecula and Sunnyvale.

Irvine logged 48 violent crimes per 100,000 residents last year, while Glendale logged 93. Meanwhile, in Detroit, which was named the most dangerous city by the same outfit, there were 2,072 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, according to the 24/7 Wall Street report.

The FBI discourages agencies from ranking the cities based on violent crime statistics alone, citing that they ignore the uniqueness of each city.

Nationwide, violent crime, which includes murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, dropped 4.4% in 2013 compared to the previous year.