By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

HELENA – The city of Helena has once again been tabbed the safest city in Alabama, this time by the consumer-focused website Security Baron, after the website revealed Alabama’s 50 safest cities list for 2019.

Security Baron used the FBI’s 2016 and 2017 Uniform Crime Reporting data to choose the top picks, based on a number of factors including murder rate, rape rate, robbery rate, assault rate, burglary rate, theft rate, vehicle theft rate, arson rates, police officer rates per 1,000 people and median income.

For each city on the list, Security Baron provided the most important information that consumers need to know, such as the city’s population, violent and property crime rates and trends, median income, average household income and an overall safety score and ranking.

Helena came in as the No. 1 safest city in Alabama for 2019 with an overall safety score of 88.32. Helena’s population sits at 18,965 with a median income of 84,110. The violent crimes per 1,000 is a 0.84 while property crimes come in at a 4.9 per 1,000. Helena’s citizen-to-officer ratio is a 1.21 while the violent crime and property crime trends are both on the decline.

In addition to Helena, two other Shelby County cities made it within the top 20 of the list including Hoover at No. 3 and Montevallo at No. 11.

Hoover came in as the No. 3 safest city in Alabama for 2019 with an overall safety score of 83.88. Hoover’s population sits at 85,634 with a median income of 81,038. The violent crimes per 1,000 is a 0.96 while property crimes come in at a 11.42 per 1,000. Hoover’s citizen-to-officer ratio is a 1.96 while the violent crime trend is down and property crime trends are on the rise.

Montevallo came in as the No. 11 safest city in Alabama for 2019 with an overall safety score of 74.15. Montevallo’s population sits at 6,793 with a median income of 37,929. The violent crimes per 1,000 is a 3.09 while property crimes come in at a 22.67 per 1,000. Montevallo’s citizen-to-officer ratio is a 2.06 while the violent crime and property crime trends are both slightly on the rise.

Focusing on both cybersecurity and home security, Security Baron takes in-depth looks at specific products and security systems to help consumers make their buying decisions. For more information on Security Baron, and to view Alabama’s 50 safest cities list for 2019, visit https://securitybaron.com/safe-cities/alabama.