Osceola was ranked as the 23rd safest city in Iowa according to Security Baron.
Security Baron ranked Iowa cities by finding the number of violent crimes per thousand city residents, number of police per thousand city residents and the number of property crimes committed per thousand city residents.
The list of safest Iowa cities has the top 70 cities ranked. Marty Duffus, Osceola Police Chief is proud to be on this list for the second year in a row.
“I think it shows how hard our guys work on their cases,” said Duffus. “It’s also a reflection of our community, our members make it that way and so do we.”
According to Security Baron, Osceola’s population at the time of the ranking was 5,051 citizens. That number means there are 1.98 police officers per thousand citizens. This is a ratio that Duffus has kept an eye on over the years.
“We’ve done very well, obviously, we’re pretty efficient,” said Duffus. “But we have a higher call volume for the size of city we are than anyone around us.”
As the city continues to grow so will the Osceola Police Department.
The police station has been receiving about 500 calls a month. That makes the police force busy with 11 officers. There are some larger scale crimes that the police watch out for such as narcotics and large thefts. Being positioned between Des Moines and Kansas City on Interstate 35 means that the Osceola Police take part in dealing with crimes and working with other police departments to catch criminals as they make their way through the state.
“Any crime that a community like Des Moines has, we have,” said Duffus. “Anything that happens in a larger community happens here.”
According to Security Baron, there are 1.58 violent crimes per thousand citizens and 18.21 property crimes per thousand citizens.
“As we expand and grow, I’ve talked about, when we redo the downtown that I’d like to have some video camera’s downtown, on the four corners and on the west end of town as well,” said Duffus.
The biggest safety measure are the citizens of Osceola. When people see suspicious activity they call it in and that helps keep the community safe.
“There’s no way we can be in every corner of town all the time,” said Duffus. “Citizens will get involved and they’ll report it. I can’t encourage that enough. If you see something, say something.”
Duffus is proud of the work that the police officers and staff at the Osceola Police Department do to keep the community safe and he commends the vigilant citizens who immediately report crimes and credits them with making Osceola the 23rd safest city in Iowa.
To see other statistics about Osceola or where other communities are ranked visit www.securitybaron.com/safe-cities/iowa.