Cambridge has been named as one of the safest cities in the country to visit or relocate.
According to popular rental website Rentola, Cambridge, along with Kitchener-Waterloo, cracked the top 10 safest Canadian Metropolitan Areas (CMA) in Canada.
Based on numerous factors like the crime severity index, number of citizens per police officer and crime solving rate, each metropolitan area is looked at how violent the crimes being committed are and how police are protecting its residents.
According to the data provided by Statistics Canada, Waterloo region has the third highest police to citizen ratio with 131 officers per 100,000 residents. The amount of officers matched a low violent crime rate, ranked 21 out of 34 CMAs, the probability of being involved in a violent crime is one of the lowest in the country.
Cambridge and the rest of the surrounding CMA would be higher on the list if not for its low crime solving rate, currently ranked 27 and right near the bottom.
Another factor in preventing the region from achieving a higher ranking is the number of non-violent crimes being committed.
In a January police board meeting, Waterloo Regional Police Service's Chief of Police Mark Crowell noted that non-violent crimes have been on the rise and have been the highest since 2013.
Rentola conducts these reports to determine where the best place to live, visit and travel to. They recognize that regardless of a CMAs position on the list there is not one place that is void from crime.
"Although the safest cities in Canada have notably lower crime rates compared to other areas, it's essential to recognize that no city is completely immune to all types of crime. However, the top-ranked cities have demonstrated effective safety initiatives, community engagement, and proactive measures that significantly contribute to their overall safety," wrote Rentola.
In the past week there have been multiple shootings in Cambridge and another violent hate motivated attack at the University of Waterloo.
Despite the region's high ranking in the safest cities list, there are still dangers that present themselves close to home.
Other notable rankings on the list include: Barrie at the top spot, Brantford in second, Guelph in third and Toronto taking the fourth spot.
Winnipeg, Manitoba is regarded as the least safest city in the country with a high crime rate and a smaller police force.
