Krouse's surprise isn't because he thinks the statistics are terribly wrong. He just didn't realize they were THAT low. Although Leeds is still a town where residents keep the doors to their homes and cars unlocked at night, Krouse admitted he'd be willing to bet the town's crime rate isn't quite as low as the statistics suggest.

First off all, the town has only a part-time police force, including the chief and four part-time officers. The rest of the time the city is patrolled by the Washington County Sheriff's Office. So, to avoid dual reporting, sometimes crime statistics for Leeds are included in the sheriff's office's year-end reports but not the town's, Krouse said.

In addition, most residents in Leeds are elderly or people whose families have lived in the town for generations, he said.

"They've learned to deal with problems amongst themselves," he said. "They're used to handling things on their own."

The population of Leeds hasn't grown much over the years, being able to avoid many of the undesirable influences from the outside world. And residents are "generally concerned for the well-being of each other," Krouse said.

Each of the town's officers fills out on average one police report per month, he said. So in that respect, Krouse said, the state crime statistics could be accurate. "Most of the calls we go to are citizen assists or barking dog complaints. We just don't have that many serious crimes," Krouse said.

Among cities with more than 10,000 residents, North Ogden has the lowest rate of violent crime (3.5 per year on average per 10,000 residents). Farmington has the lowest rate of property crimes (155 per 10,000 residents).

"Wow. That's pretty neat" was the reaction from North Ogden Police Chief Polo Afuvai, who was unaware of his city's ranking.

Both North Ogden and Farmington are on the urban Wasatch Front but have lower crime rates than many much-smaller rural towns. Both, in general, credit strong Neighborhood Watch programs and citizens looking out for each other, providing law enforcement with additional sets of eyes and ears.

Farmington Police Chief Wayne Hansen also credited the high visibility of his officers walking the streets as a deterrent to criminals. The city has 12 full-time officers to watch over its estimated 18,000 residents.

"A lot of people are really concerned about their safety and well-being. They call and report things to us," Afuvai said. "We don't have a lot of shootings. People are really watching out for each other for the most part. We haven't had a homicide for a long time. I can't remember the last time we had one. It's been quite awhile."

North Ogden has 16 officers watching over its city of about 16,000.

Best and worst 10s

A few surprises can be found among other cities that made (or escaped) the lists of Worst 10 and Best 10 rankings.