MADISON – The National Council for Home Safety and Security has named Madison as one of the safest cities in Alabama.

Madison ranks as the 14th safest Alabama city in the council’s 2017 list.

“We are extremely proud of our entire police department and the other public safety agencies that ensure our residents, business owners and visitors feel safe within Madison.” Mayor Paul Finley said.

“Police officers’ jobs across the country have become more dangerous. I appreciate what our men and women do hourly to keep us not only feeling safe, but being safe,” Finley said.

To identify the safest cities in Alabama, the National Council for Home Safety & and Security reviewed the most recent FBI Crime Report statistics, along with their own population data and internal research. The council eliminated any cities that failed to submit a complete crime report to the FBI and removed cities with populations under 5,000.

Variables for the violent and property crime rate were then weighted and reformatted from crime per 100,000 to crime per 1,000 persons.