- February 5, 2025
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Port Orange was ranked the eleventh safest city out of 142 cities in Florida, according to a report from online safety resource SafeWise, which released the top 20 safest cities this year.
The ranking was based on 2016 FBI crime statistics and population data, including the number of reported violent crimes in each city per 1,000 people.
"Out of the cities considered, Port Orange residents should feel proud to be among the top 20 safest cities in Florida," SafeWise Home and Family Safety Expert Krystal Rogers wrote in an email. "At Safewise the rankings can vary from year to year, but with only one violent crime per 1,000 residents, Port Orange is below the national average of 3.97 violent crimes per 1000 people."
According to Rogers, only 4% of total crimes were comprised of violent crime in Port Orange, meaning that threats to personal safety were uncommon. The majority of crime in Port Orange was property crime, coming in at 95%, with 24.39 property crimes per 1,000 people. This is roughly the same as the national average for property crime, which is 24.5.
According to the 2017 annual report from the Port Orange Police Department, there was an overall increase in crimes by 2.95, mostly because of theft and burglary. The report also indicated that staffing challenges forced the Crime Suppression Team to temporarily disband in order to staff patrol shifts as well as handle calls for service.
"This significantly impacted the Police Department's ability to prevent theft and burglary crimes," the report stated. "Every effort is being made to increase staffing levels and reorganize the Crime Suppression Team, as soon as possible."
The report also pointed toward residential and commercial growth as another factor in the number of vehicle and traffic accidents on the more than 300 miles of public roads. In 2017 police investigated 1,830 traffic crashes, of which more than 24% involved injuries.
However, there were 8,692 traffic citations, 1,927 written warnings and 154 DUI arrests made in 2017. There were also 1,634 arrests made and approximately $228,581 in stolen property recovered.
According to Port Orange Police Chief Thomas Grimaldi, a combination of education and awareness is important for combating crime. Grimaldi said that the community relations and crime prevention unit are also in constant contact with HOAs, businesses and individual citizens in the community to help them better understand how they can avoid becoming victims. The Department calls it a “crime triangle” where each side of the triangle is represented by either a criminal, an unsuspecting victim or opportunity.
"Our officers make every effort to remove criminals from the community, but that is extremely challenging," Grimaldi wrote in an email. "However, if we can remove the opportunity for crime, then that has an impact on where the criminals will commit the crime."
Grimaldi said a key factor in all of this is high visibility. He added that the Department is looking at being more involved in the County Real Time Crime Center so that crime patterns and criminals can be better identified in order to reallocate resources in a timely and effective way. Grimaldi said that it is an area of the contemporary policing model that the Department can improve on but that there must also be growth and the right people in those analyst positions.
Port Orange resident Daniel Robins, who also worked as a police officer, said he feels that Port Orange is one of the safest towns within Volusia County. He said that a key factor to buying a home in Port Orange with his family was because of law enforcement presence and the Department's relationship with the community.
Robins added that community meetings, neighborhood watch programs and networking with businesses have also been major players in the city's safety record.
"The reason Port Orange is the way it is when it comes to crime is due solely on its deep community ties and its strong partnership with law enforcement," Robins said. "With our residents being positively involved in the community, keeping a close bond with law enforcement, government, it will allow Port Orange to grow smart and dictate which direction Port Orange wants to grow."
