Mahwah Ranks on Top as Safest Town in NJ

Mahwah, hometown of the Ramapo Roadrunners, was recently named the safest town in New Jersey. The town ranked No. 1 on SafeWise's "50 Safest Communities in New Jersey" list.

According to SafeWise, Mahwah's 2011 crime data consisted of zero murders, rapes or robberies, ranking it No. 1 on the list of New Jersey municipalities.

The list was compiled by SafeWise, a website that documents crime statistics. The website displays everything from security measures to New Jersey's crime stats. New Jersey residents can use the website to access crime data for the county in which they live.

Based on SafeWise's records, Mahwah was ranked as the safest of 50 towns in New Jersey. The ranking was compiled through the site's investigation of each town in the Garden State, and all of the rankings used the FBI's crime reports.

Being that Ramapo College is in the heart of Mahwah, the ranking reflects positively on the safety of the school's campus.

"Compared to Jersey City where I come from, this is heaven," said Elias Median, a junior. "Mahwah is a rich town. The more money, the more ways to ensure safety."

Simply being located in Mahwah helps to ensure the safety of Ramapo's students, but the College also makes an effort to keep students safe with their own safety measures, including their "Alert Me Now" system, which sends emergency notifications to students, staff and faculty to keep them apprised of any emergency situations occurring on campus.

"The school has taken strives forward in regards to safety, especially with the RCNJ alerts when there is something happening on campus like bear sightings," said junior Zachary Hathaway. 

Ramapo's students are appreciative of the safety of the community their school is located in and the feeling of safety they have when on campus.

"I'm a commuter so I am not really on campus a lot, but it gives me peace of mind to know that when I am commuting to school, I am safe," said junior Stefanie Murphy.

jrinzuel@ramapo.edu