Criminals bypass Rathdrum

Location, location, location.

Not only does it matter with pitching in baseball and profits in business, but it's also on your side for being a safe community.

A recent report released by Movoto Real Estate using the 2012 FBI Uniform Crime Report - the federal agency's latest yearly statistics available - ranked Rathdrum as the seventh-safest Idaho city of the 24 cities with a population greater than 5,000.

Rathdrum was ranked as the safest mid- to large-sized city north of Moscow.

"This little city nestled in the Idaho Panhandle has a charming neighborhood atmosphere and a crime rate that many larger cities would envy," the report states.

Rathdrum police Chief Kevin Fuhr said the city's location helps keep crime in check.

"We're far enough north that we don't get all that freeway traffic, so a lot of people stay away from us," he said, adding that the city also doesn't have large retailers or a public transportation system that attract more people. "It's a laid-back community."

Post Falls, just 7 miles south of Rathdrum, was tied for 12th on the list. Weiser was ranked No. 1.

Post Falls chief Scot Haug said his officers deal with a lot of crime involving suspects who cross the border on Interstate 90 from Spokane.

His department also responds to the two Walmart stores multiple times daily as the retailer can be a magnet for shoplifters and, with heavier traffic in general, more problems arise, he said.

Haug said Walmart provides a service to the community and its foundation helps local nonprofits, but there's no denying that it increases officers' workload. Post Falls also responds to alerts by a vehicle license identification system on the freeway which notifies dispatchers if a stolen vehicle that passes through.

"About 75 percent of those calls are vehicles that are coming into Idaho from Washington, not going the other way," he said.

According to the report, Rathdrum had 200 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2012 and 2,095 property crimes per 100,000. Post Falls had 183 violent crimes and 3,408 property crimes.

"All and all, Post Falls remains a safe community to live in, especially when you look at violent crimes," Haug said. "But we've got work to do on the property crime front. We've seen an increase in property crimes, including people coming over the border and zipping back into Washington. Property crimes limited us from being in the top 10 (in the report)."

The rankings took into account total crimes, property crimes, violent crimes and murders in cities that reported data to the FBI. The crime rate was then calculated per 100,000 residents for a fair comparison. Property crimes, violent crimes and murders each comprised 30 percent of the overall score, while total crimes comprised 10 percent.

Both Post Falls and Rathdrum have had promising crime numbers since 2012.

For example, the cities had a decrease in calls for service in 2013 compared to 2012, according to a report compiled by Post Falls Police, which also dispatches calls for Rathdrum. Post Falls' calls for service decreased to 24,517 in 2013 from 25,968. Rathdrum's dropped to 5,201 from 5,574.

Fuhr said his officers are encouraged to talk to residents when they're on the streets to maintain a small-town feel. That, he said, also helps solve crimes.

"We get told about crimes because of a good connection with the community," he said.

Fuhr remembers a stretch when there were a string of home burglaries in the Rathdrum area, but not in city limits.

"We try to have the cars out in the community as much as possible, so people will know the response time is quick," he said, hoping that criminals also take note of it.

In his eight years as chief, only two officers have left the department, so a lack of turnover has helped the department build trust with citizens.

"The officers really enjoy working in a smaller community," said Fuhr, adding he believes that has outweighed greener pastures salary-wise as far as making decisions on whether to leave.

Haug said statistics should be cautiously considered due to several factors behind the numbers.

For example, he said Post Falls offers a lot of ways to report crimes, including through texts, anonymous avenues through its website and phone and social media.

"If we make it as easy as possible, people are more apt to report crime," he said, adding that departments vary on how much they embrace technology for crime-reporting methods.

Further, he said, not all cities fall follow the same formula as far as classifying reportable crimes.

"My son was a victim in an aggravated battery in Spokane and they didn't even take a report," he said. "So does that mean the crime didn't occur (according to the statistics)?"

According to the report, Coeur d'Alene ranked No. 23 as the safest city with only Garden City below it.

Movoto Real Estate is an online real estate brokerage. Its blog has been recognized by news organizations such as Forbes and CBS News.

Last month The Press published an article on a study released by Law Street Media, which named Coeur d'Alene as the most dangerous city in Idaho of the 11 with populations greater than 25,000. The study was based on violent crime stats voluntarily reported to the FBI in 2012.

Despite the ranking, there were only 72 other safer metro areas of 1,583 such cities in the nation, according to the report.

Violent crime statistics included in the report were murder, forcible rape, aggravated assault and robbery. That study ranked each state based on the number of violent crimes per 100,000 people.

Law enforcement officials in all three of the local cities said Kootenai County remains a safe place to live and that the best indicator of safety is the fact that most residents feel confident they can call police, report a crime and get a quick response.