STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — The city of Sterling Heights has something to brag about after being named the safest big city in Michigan for another year.
“Very safe, very happy. At night, you can go for a walk; there’s hardly any cars around on the road,” resident and parent Lindsey Dyer said.
It's the sixth year in a row that the city has earned the title.
The most recent FBI statistics show a continued trend of decreased crime in both total property crimes and violent crimes, as well as safest overall for cities with a population greater than 100,000.
“I feel safe in Sterling Heights. Everywhere I go, especially the parks around downtown," said resident Anthony Bollini, who was at the park with his family.
The FBI’s crime statistics estimates, based on reported data for 2023, show that national violent crime decreased an estimated 3.0% in 2023 compared to 2022 estimates.
In Sterling Heights, violent crime went down 19% and 4% for property crime.
"Just completely destroying the national averages. So we already had very, very low crime in Sterling Heights. We moved to a whole other level. Couldn’t have been any prouder of our officers here. We have some of the best police officers here in the state of Michigan," Police Chief Dale Dwojakowski said.
Dwojakowski credits partnership throughout the city.
"You have to be connected and when you’re connected with community people call, they give us tips. When they see a suspicious car in the street, they call us. I mean, that is the secret sauce, that is the recipe to lowering crime: citizens that care, businesses that care, a city council, city administration that supports a police department and then hiring the best cops in the state," Dwojakowski said.
He also took the chance to tout on his team.
"We hire the best. We have the best road officers, detectives, and special units and training officers. So we bring these officers from across the state and we assembled an all-star team and when crime happens in Sterling Heights, we usually catch the bad guys,” he said.
Recent report: Yes, Sterling Heights police really did find an alligator under a car!
Studies have shown a correlation between violent crime and poverty. In community he dotingly referred to as "blue collar, "Dwojakowski acknowledged that.
"This is who lives in Sterling Heights: hard working families. Snd most of our homes here in Sterling Heights are owned, they’re not rented. So when you have that combination of people that care about where they live, they care about their home they care about what goes on in their community, it helps us,” Dwojakowski said.
The city beat out Detroit, Warren, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor and Dearborn.
2023 VIOLENT CRIMES DATA SHARED BY CITY OF STERLING HEIGHTS
| City | Total Violent crimes | Murder/Non Neg Manslaughter | Rape | Robbery | Aggravated Assault |
| Detroit | 12,509 | 250 | 420 | 1,394 | 10,445 |
| Grand Rapids | 1,674 | 23 | 121 | 209 | 1,321 |
| Lansing | 1,553 | 12 | 82 | 146 | 1,313 |
| Warren | 746 | 6 | 68 | 73 | 599 |
| Ann Arbor | 354 | 4 | 30 | 46 | 274 |
| Dearborn | 317 | 2 | 18 | 54 | 243 |
| Sterling Heights | 210 | 1 | 9 | 17 | 183 |
2023 PROPERTY CRIMES
| City | Total Property Crimes | Burglary | Larceny – Theft | Motor Vehicle Theft | Arson |
| Detroit | 53,409 | 4,827 | 15,630 | 9,260 | 477 |
| Grand Rapids | 8,554 | 535 | 4,045 | 1,256 | 69 |
| Lansing | 4,999 | 583 | 1,789 | 856 | 26 |
| Warren | 4,202 | 374 | 1,559 | 519 | 24 |
| Dearborn | 3,417 | 184 | 1,523 | 517 | 10 |
| Ann Arbor | 3,226 | 209 | 1,717 | 162 | 10 |
| Sterling Heights | 2,522 | 123 | 1,118 | 219 | 11 |
“Sterling Heights isn’t just a city on a map; we set the standard,” Sterling Heights Mayor Michael C. Taylor said in a statement. “And being named Michigan’s safest big city year after year isn’t just a badge of honor or an achievement that’s only about the numbers. It’s a testament to our dedicated community and police department that work together to cultivate the strong sense of safety and wellbeing we enjoy.”
The FBI released detailed data on over 14 million criminal offenses for 2023 reported to the Uniform Crime Reporting program by participating law enforcement agencies. More than 16,000 state, county, city, university and college, and tribal agencies, covering a combined population of 94.3% inhabitants, submitted data to the UCR program through the National Incident-Based Reporting System and the Summary Reporting System.
