When SafeWise released its ninth annual Safest Cities in Utah report, Herriman City landed in fourth place. With a population of more than 61,000, it is the largest city in the top 10 rankings. Riverton landed at sixth.

The report shows a violent crime rate in Herriman of 0.7 incidents per 1,000 people and a property crime rate of 8.9 incidents per 1,000 people, a small increase over last year’s 8.7. 

Herriman Mayor Lorin Palmer said although the city continues to experience rapid growth, a proactive approach by the Herriman City Police Department has created trust with residents as the city builds a sense of community. He attributes the low crime rate to public-facing policies and programs.

“I think everyone’s tried to hang on to this small-town identity, if you will,” Palmer said. “In a way, we’re still trying to watch out for each other. I think it starts with the community, and our police absolutely support that, but I think it’s our community and watching out for each other, and wanting to stay united and tight-knit as possible.”

The SafeWise report shows package theft is the most troublesome category of crime in Utah, with 30% of survey respondents reporting a stolen package during the last 12 months. Nearly 60% are highly concerned about package theft and use methods like video doorbells and verified delivery to combat porch thieves. 

Herriman is no exception. Located at the end of a TRAX line, Palmer said it’s easy for people to get off the train, steal packages and leave the area quickly. Often, the package thieves aren’t from the Herriman community.

“We’re just gonna have to watch that and be vigilant. We’re trying to educate people that we’re not a small town anymore, so we can’t leave our doors unlocked, we can’t leave the cars [unlocked],” Palmer said. “So we’re just trying to educate people in not becoming an easy target.”

Domestic violence is the biggest crime problem in Herriman. Each domestic violence call usually has two officers respond to the situation, which can take up time and resources, especially if the scenario lasts a long time or escalates. 

“It can be multiple hours, and that’s pulling away the resources from where we could be doing other proactive stuff,” Palmer said. “Domestic violence is by far our biggest thing we deal with and causes the most concern because that will snowball and have a lot of effect on the community,”

Lone Peak was named the safest city in Utah with a violent crime rate of 0.4 incidents per 1,000 people and a property crime rate of 5.8 incidents per 1,000 people. With 30,210 residents, it also has half the population of Herriman.

The other 10 Safest Cities in Utah for 2023 are Kaysville, Syracuse, Spanish Fork, Riverton, Pleasant Grove, Payson, Saratoga Springs and North Ogden. For the full report, visit SafeWise.com. 

“Hats off to our police department and our community for just working together, for being super vigilant,” Palmer said. “The community trusts our officers.”

Riverton moved up five places on the rankings from a year ago and has the second-highest population in the top 10 with almost 45,000. Its property crime rate was 12.2 incidents per 1,000 people. λ