Each year the FBI ranks the public safety levels of U.S. cities according to population and considers a number of factors including murder, rape, assault, burglary, arson and auto theft.
This is the 15th year in a row Irvine has held the top spot as America’s safest City among cities with a population of 250,000 or more.
Irvine Police Chief Mike Hamel credited the department’s positive relationship with the community and strong City leadership for its continued success.
“Irvine continues to be a safe community due to the partnership between the committed men and women of the Irvine Police Department, our City leaders who always make public safety a top priority, and our residents and business community,” Chief Hamel said. “Maintaining public safety, while delivering professional and compassionate service to everyone is always our top priority.”
Councilmember Melissa Fox said, “We are America’s safest city because the men and women of the Irvine Police Department perform their duties at the very highest levels of professionalism and integrity. Our Police Chief, our City Council and our residents expect and require nothing less. Our residents know that our police officers are dedicated to ensuring the safety of our residents and treat everyone with fairness and respect.”
Irvine was also 1 of only 11 police major departments in the nation that did not use deadly force from 2016-2018.
During the protests following the murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis, our Irvine Police Department helped ensure that all voices were heard. I was glad that Irvine Police Chief Mike Hamel stated that he was personally “deeply disturbed” as a member of law enforcement by the “unjust and disgraceful” murder of George Floyd; that it “erodes the trust and confidence we work so hard to reach”; and that he demands that his officers “treat every member of the public with respect and professionalism.”
Irvine’s outstanding safety record is proof that public safety is enhanced, not compromised, by holding police officers to high standards, and is enhanced even more so when the police officers embrace a tradition of holding themselves to the highest standards of accountability and community service.
To see the FBI report, click HERE.
Last year, I joined three of my colleagues on the Irvine City Council to 
Recently, using data from the FBI, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the violent crimes rate in the 294 U.S. cities with populations of at least 100,000 — a population-adjusted measure of incidents of rape, robbery, homicide, and aggravated assault — to identify 
According to the most recent FBI data, there were zero murders, 40 rapes, 53 robberies, and 67 aggravated assaults reported in Irvine in 2018. Adjusted for population, there were just 56 violent crimes reported per 100,000 Irvine residents, by far the lowest rate of any U.S. city with a population of at least 100,000 and less than one-sixth the national violent crime rate.
Irvine Chief of Police Mike Hamel said, “Irvine continues to be a safe community due to the collaboration between the men and women of the Irvine Police Department who work tirelessly every day to identify and respond to criminal activity and quality of life issues, our City leaders who always make public safety a top priority, and our residents who actively participate in crime prevention and community improvement strategies.”
In collaboration with Anaheim Police Department, Police Officers Eric Grisotti and Jay Poland assisted in their police helicopter “Angel” searching for a heat source near where the missing elderly man was last seen.
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