“Murphy has the distinction of consistently being in the top ten, and often in the top five, of the safest cities in the North Texas area, and based on the latest statistics from the FBI’s database, we were the city with the lowest crime in the critical Part 1 category in 2012, and it wasn’t a close race,” he said.

Murphy reported the lowest number of violent crimes and serious property crimes than any other city in the five-county area with between 10,000 and 100,000 population, according to the Uniform Crime Report, administered by the Department of Justice and the FBI. The City’s five violent crimes in 2012 were the least, compared against all cities of all sizes, and its 132 combined violent and property crimes were 40 percent lower than the next lowest community.

“Several factors play into our numbers, some can be measured and others can’t. It’s not possible, for example, to place a measurement on the pride that homeowners have in their individual neighborhoods and subdivisions. We can’t place a figure on the sense of community that results in mutual assistance and constant vigilance, and we can’t put a number on how residents take proactive steps in community-building,” he said.

Other factors, however, like the number of police officers on the force, the hours of training they receive, the number of patrols conducted in neighborhoods, the response times, the number of arrests, along with other empirical data can be and are constantly measured.

“The bottom line, though, is that this community takes a unified approach to safety and security. Our officers are out there in the neighborhoods, making connections, giving advice, taking suggestions. We have successful programs like N2N, vacation watch, our volunteer Citizens on Patrol, law enforcement seminars, Explorers, school visits, and many other day-to-day interactions with residents and businesses. I’m pleased to say our trust factor in the community is very high,” added the Chief.

N2N (Neighbor 2 Neighbor) is an annual evening event held in the fall in various neighborhoods that encourages residents to reach out to one another and interact with the police, fire and EMS personnel.

“Statistics can be manipulated in various ways, but hard numbers tell the true story. In reportable numbers in these specific categories, Murphy is the safest in the area, bar none, and when taken as rates of crime per 1,000 in population, Murphy is the safest community in the entire state of Texas,” he said.

A steadfast community, trained, dedicated, hardworking police officers, unwavering support from the City Manager and a City Council that demonstrates its commitment to public safety all combine to achieve these results.

ABOUT MURPHY -- Murphy is a fast-growing community located in Collin County. The population is approximately 18,020, generally characterized as highly educated with a median household income above the state average. With more than 70 percent of the land developed, the community is dominated by single-family residences. Determined to maintain a country living ambiance, city planners strive to preserve that feel while still exhibiting an aggressive economic development stance. The centrally-located municipal complex includes four buildings that house Fire, Police, City Administration and Public Works. Money Magazine has dubbed Murphy as the 27th Best Place to Live in America for small cities.