Malverne named one of New York State's safest cities

Malverne Village has been named to a list of the “Top 10 Safest Cities in New York,” the only community on Long Island recognized, according to the firm Movoto Real Estate.

The 1-square-mile village is listed along with the Town of Elmira, Village of Briarcliff Manor, Town of Lewisboro, Village of Irvington, Town of Mount Hope, Village of Pleasantville, Town of Stillwater, Town of Kent and Village of Chester.

“We are a safe, family community due to the excellence of the Malverne Police Department, combined with the dedicated volunteers of our Police Reserves, and the involvement of residents who look out for one another,” Malverne Village Mayor Patricia Norris-McDonald said in a statement. “We’re very pleased to be recognized as one of the 10 safest communities in New York.”

Motovo considered Malverne to be safe because the village of about 8,500 residents reported a single robbery in 2012 that was considered a violent crime according to FBI data. By comparison, the village reported no violent crimes in 2011, according to the FBI.

Malverne reported 28 crimes in 2012, about 61 percent of which were thefts and about 36 percent of which were burglaries. Residents have a 1 in 307 chance of being the victim of a crime, Motovo found.

To create the ranking, Movoto Real Estate looked at FBI crime statistics for violent crime and property crime from 2012, the law enforcement organization’s most recent report. It also selected cities with a population of 5,000 or more, which included 213 locations in total.