Santa Clarita is one of the safest cities in the nation to raise a child, according to a recent report by SafeWise.
The city earned a ranking of 25 out of 50 others listed in the Aug. 15 study, which considered factors such as the prevalence of crime, graduation rates and the number of sex offenders per capita.
“As parents, there’s nothing more important than keeping our children safe. From crime levels to quality schools, living in a community that shares your priorities is important,” the report read.
With a safety score of 91.12 out of 100, Santa Clarita was recognized for having a violent crime rate of 1.63 crimes per 1,000 people, a lower rate than the national average at 4.49 crimes. The city’s property crime rate of 14.24 was also lower than the national rate, which reached 27.11 crimes per 1,000 individuals. When it came to the number of sex offenders, data indicated a rate of 1 out of 10,000 people.
Efforts between the city and the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, such as the Stolen Collection, 9 p.m. Routine and Heads Up campaigns, which target theft prevention and traffic safety “have led to impressive drops in both crime and traffic collisions,” said City Communications Manager Carrie Lujan.
Under education, Santa Clarita’s “public schools routinely rank in the top 10% among California school systems,” the report read — an indication of its high graduation rate of 90.3%.
Among the programs directly aimed for SCV students is the Drug Free Youth in the SCV program, which has “empowered more than 50,000 students to make good choices and give them the tools they need to say no to peer pressure” since its launch, said Lujan.
The report also highlighted Santa Clarita’s “extensive recreational opportunities, including 34 parks sprinkled throughout the city and over 3,000 acres of open space,” something with which Mayor Marsha McLean agreed.
“We do have our reputation as a family-friendly community and that is not by accident,” she said. “Law enforcement and Parks and Recreation are the top areas we fund. We focus very much on making sure our kids have a wonderful place to grow up.”
Santa Clarita was among 13 other California cities that made the list of the top 50 safest places to raise children.
