The combined efforts of a local police force and community have been recognized for their hard work over the past year.
The National Council for Home Safety and Security named the Village of Ada the 16th safest city in Ohio. Cities, villages, and township with a population over 5,000 people qualified to make the list. Cities received rankings based on the number of violent crimes such as aggravated assault, murder, rape, and robbery, as well as property crimes including burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft per 1,000 people. According to Ada Police Chief Michael Harnishfeger, Ada’s high safety ranking is not a coincidence.
Harnishfeger says, “In 2002, we started a program called S.A.F.E.R., Seeking Aid From Every Resident. It’s critical that Ada residents join with their police department.” He adds how important cooperation from the community is, “When they see something, they say something. And here in Ada that’s quite obvious folks are willing to help the police department.”
Also making the top 50 safest city list was the Shawnee Township in Lima ranking 45th in the state of Ohio.
