Mahwah Named Second Safest Town in Jersey

This week, the real estate blog Movoto ranked the top ten safest towns in New Jersey and Mahwah came in at #2, just one spot below where the township landed on a Safewise list last month.

On the Movoto list, Chatham township dethroned Mahwah and claimed the #1 spot. This list considered all towns with a population of 10,000 or more, and based the ranking on the FBI’s 2012 crime statistics report, and the number of crimes committed per resident.

"The name "Mahwah" comes from the Lenape word mawewi, which means "Meeting Place," and, after conducting or study, we can't think of a better-or safer-place to meet," Movoto said of the township.

Of the 109 crimes reported in 2012, 106 were non-violent and 87 of those were property theft, the report explained.

"Residents here only had a 1 in 223 chance of being the victim of a crime," it said.

Township Mayor Bill Laforet said he was proud of this ranking, especially in light of the previous Safewise ranking.

"I think this is just another validation that our community is doing the right things, and that this is a great place to be," he told Patch.

Laforet also commended the Mahwah Police Department on its work, which he said "definitely is a big part of all of these safety rankings."

Other towns on the top ten list include Hasbrouck Heights and Tenafly. See the full list here.