Woodbury, MN attracts new residents because it is part of the Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan area and has a low unemployment rate and crime rate. Although it has a lower than average crime rate, it can still be beneficial to consider installing some type of alarm system.
Overall Crime Rate
The overall crime rate in the city is about 18.54 crimes per 1,000 residents each year. This is about 34 percent below the average for the U.S., making Woodbury safer than 72 percent of other cities in the country. There is about a 1 in 53 chance that someone living in Woodbury will be a victim of some type of crime in any given year. When taking areas into consideration, there are about 36 crimes per square mile each year, which is slightly higher than the national average of 32 crimes per square mile. However, this is understandable as cities have more people per square mile than rural areas so it isn’t unexpected that they’d also have more crimes per square mile. Unfortunately, the crime rate increased by about 4 percent between 2014 and 2015.
Violent Crime Rate
Thankfully, the violent crime rate in Woodbury is extremely low. There are about 0.52 violent crimes per 1,000 residents each year, which is much lower than the national average of 3.8 per 1,000 residents. The chance of being a victim of a violent crime in the city is about 1 in 1,939 compared to 1 in 412 in Minnesota in general.
Property Crime Rate
The property crime rate in the city is 18.54 crimes per 1,000 residents per year, which is lower than the national average of 24.9. People living in Woodbury still have a 1 in 54 chance of becoming the victim of some sort of property crime in any given year. The vast majority of crime in Woodbury consists of thefts, which make up 82 percent of all crimes committed. This is followed by burglaries, which make up 12 percent of crimes committed in the city. To limit the risk of your home being one that is burglarized, consider installing a monitored alarm system. This tends to cut the risk by about one-third and perhaps even more if you live in a neighborhood where many of the homes have alarm systems. Other steps to take include making sure to lock all doors and windows, owning a dog, installing lights near all the doors that go on whenever motion is detected and keeping all bushes and trees near the house trimmed back so they don’t provide cover for potential burglars.
Safest Areas
People who want to limit their risk of being affected by crime should avoid the Hudson Road/Bielenberg Drive neighborhood, which has the most crime in Woodbury, and instead opt for one of the lower crime neighborhoods, such as Lake Road/Afton Road, Bailey Road/Woodland Drive or Woodbury Drive/Regatta Drive. Some other cities nearby have even lower crime rates, including North Oaks, Shoreview and Bayport. Many other nearby cities have higher crime rates, however, including St. Paul, Oakdale, Newport and Inner Grove Heights.
Police Presence
There are about 73 people employed by the police department, which means there’s a ratio of 1.2 police officers per 1,000 residents in the city. This is lower than the Minnesota average of 1.8 officers per 1,000 residents and much lower than the national average of 3.3 officers per 1,000 residents. Many of these police officers also serve dual jobs, as they are trained as paramedics or firefighters as well as police officers to help with the shortage of emergency response professionals and help cut costs in the city. The police have an overall case clearance rate of about 17 percent compared to a national average of 28 percent. When it comes to burglaries, they manage to clear just 8 percent of all cases compared to a national average of 12 percent. To increase the chances of the police catching and being able to prosecute anyone who attempts to burglarize your house, it’s helpful if you have a home security system that verifies what set off all alarms with videos. This moves any alarms passed on to the police up in the priority scale so the police are more likely to arrive before burglars leave (which is often within 10 minutes of entering the home).
Alarm Considerations
Having a home security system can be beneficial in more ways than simply helping to prevent burglaries. Many people are now using this type of system as part of a home automation program, making it possible for them to lock and unlock doors, turn lights on and off and change the temperature in their home from wherever they are using their smartphones. These systems can also be connected to fire and carbon monoxide alarms, making it more likely that these types of alarms will be dealt with as quickly as possible even if you should be away from home. Depending on the system chosen, you can even use it to monitor what kids or babysitters are up to or in conjunction with a medical alert system for people with potential medical emergency issues. Just be aware that in Woodbury if you have more than two false alarms, there will be a fee involved. The 3rd through 7th false alarm in any calendar year will cost $75 and any false alarms after this will cost $100.
