Upper Providence Township named one of the safest communities in Pa.

DELAWARE COUNTY, Pa. - Upper Providence Township has been named one of the safest communities in Pennsylvania, according to a new report from securitybaron.com

FOX 29's Bruce Gordon spoke with residents.

Melissa Wainwright is a married mother of two young children and a baby.  They moved to Upper Providence Township, Delaware County, for the schools. She says safety was also an important factor. 

“We’ve actually lived here for two years and we’ve never had any problem. Every time you feel relatively unsafe we called the police and they’ve been close by," she said.

This 6-square mile township of just over 10,000 residents just north of Media has just been named by securitybaron.com using statistics on violent and property crime rates as the sixth safest community in Pennsylvania and the safest in our part of the commonwealth.

Police Chief David Montella says his township is routinely at or near the top of these kinds of lists. He says it’s no accident.

“Our officers worked very, very hard at that," he explained.

Chief Montella wants his cops out of the station house and out on the street in the community where residents can see them.

“The people feel confident about coming up and approaching us because we are out in the community and letting us know the problems that exist. We are receptive and we understand the problems and we try to resolve them as best we can," Chief Montella said.

You might imagine the local locksmith in the safest community around might be a lonely guy.  Owner Dana Barnum at South Penn Lock and Safe Company says he’s been kept busy for 45 years by people who know they must play a role in their own safety.

"They are looking for the newest and latest and most of the customers today are very security conscious from the web. They get on the web first and they look at what’s available they Google. Different name brands and usually they come in here looking for a specific brand," he said.