TOPSHAM

Since it was recognized by another entity three weeks ago, Topsham it seems, is still one of Maine’s safest places to live.

The town was ranked No. 2 Sept. 24 on its list of the seven safest cities to live in Maine by Safe Choice Security and Tuesday, was listed as the sixth safest place out of the top ten in Maine to live by Movoto, a real estate research blog. Brunswick ranked No. 10 on the list.

“If you want to live in the safest place in one of the safest states in the U.S., it’s not impossible,” Movoto.com states. “You’ll just have to move to Maine.”

Topsham, the site states, “had just 2,565 crimes per 100,000 people in all of 2012, including 2,497 property crimes and 68 violent crimes, none of which were murders,” according to Wikimedia user Marcbela. Property crimes included 46 vehicle thefts, 2,075 thefts and 376 burglaries. Violent crimes included 34 rapes, 23 robberies, 11 assaults per 100,000 people and no murders.

The “beautiful and eclectic college town,” of Brunswick had 3,023 crimes per 100,000 people in all — 2,925 property crimes and 98 violent crimes. “None of these violent crimes were murders, and, in fact, very few of them were robberies — something you might expect more of in a college setting,” Movoto wrote. There were 29 rapes, 15 robberies, 54 assaults and no murders, per 100,000 people.

“It’s nice to have the rankings to reaffirm the officers are creating a safe environment and helping to contribute to the overall safety of the community,” Topsham Police Chief Christopher Lewis said Tuesday. Whether we’re 6 or in the top 25, it all indicates the officers are working with the community and the community with officers to create an environment that will hopefully continue to attract more residents,” who want to call Topsham home.

Movoto looked at the most populous places in Maine with populations of 5,000 or more according to the U.S. Census. It then used 2012 FBI Uniform Crime Report data to gather statistics on murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, theft and vehicle theft. The crimes were then divided into the four categories of murders, violent crimes, property crimes and total crimes. Data from the resulting 29 places was used to calculate their crime rates per 100,000 residents. Each was then ranked with a score from 1 to 29 — 1 the safest — in each category. Then murders, violent crimes and property crimes were weighted so they were each worth 30 percent of the overall score, where the total number of crimes would be worth just 10 percent.

These weighted scores were then averaged into an overall “Big Deal Score,” so the locale with the lowest score “was our safest place.”

Yarmouth ranked the safest place, followed by Orono, Winslow, Caribou, Kennebunk, Topsham, Belfast, Gorham, Brewer, and Brunswick.

According to its website, Movoto Real Estate is an online real estate brokerage based in San Mateo, Calif. See the full list at www.movoto.com/me/safest -places-in-maine/.

In April Topsham was ranked No. 23 among the top 25 safest places to live in Maine by Safe Essentials, which also utilized FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data. Also in April Lisbon and Freeport made that list as well. Movoto included Topsham, Brunswick and Freeport in a list of the top 10 places in Maine.

dmoore@timesrecord.com

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