No thanks to the pesky rioting, State College was named the second safest city in the country behind Logan, Utah by CQ Press recently. The full Metropolitan Crime Rankings can be found here.

The Collegian reports:

State College Mayor Bill Welch said this ranking reflects positively on the borough, something that is not always the case with State College’s rankings.

“That’s the kind of list you want to be on,” Welch said. “I’d rather be two on this list than the No. 2 party school.”

State College has another reason to be proud of its high ranking, Welch said. About two-thirds of the population is composed of Penn State students who are in their “prime crime years,” he said.

“The demographic tips toward the possibility of crime,” he said. “But I think we are fortunate in that the crime we have tends to be lower level for the most part.”

Something about the phrase “prime crime years” really strikes me. I find it hard to believe that college-age kids have an increased propensity to commit a crime. In addition, I think that even if the 18-25 year old demographic is a criminal one, students at a university likely have more sense than most not to commit criminal acts. I think it that the borough is safe because so many college students live here, not in spite of them.

And for those interested, Ann Arbor, Michigan, home of the University of Michigan ranked as 119th safest. Yet another reason we are better than them!