SOLEDAD — Soledad has been named the 27th Safest City in California by the National Council for Home Safety and Security. Cities were ranked for safety by the size of the population, number of violent and property crimes, violence per 1,000 people and property crimes per 1,000.
“It makes me proud of our department,” said Police Chief Eric Sills. “The leadership we have from not only myself but our other supervisors and command staff and what our expectations are for the officers in terms of being proactive and working with the public.”
Soledad beat out other cities in Monterey County, reporting 76 violent crimes, 212 property crimes, 3.06 violent crimes per 1,000 people, and 8.55 violent crimes per 1,000 people. According to Alarms.org, Soledad has 24,805 residents.
The ranking marks the third time Soledad has made the list of the top 50 safest cities. The city ranked 21st in 2015 and came in 31st last year.
“I think we have a really good working relationship with the community here,” said Sills. “The people participate when they can, assist us when they can, calling or alerting us if they see suspicious activity.”
Soledad is also part of a security camera system, with cameras placed throughout the city that have helped the police department catch criminals. Most recently the cameras helped to identify a person who burned a dog on the outskirts of the city.
“We were able to identify him and provide that information to SPCA who got an arrest warrant for him,” Sills said.
The cameras have also aided with hit-and-run incidents.
