US News & World Report: Bergen 9th safest county in America – The Observer Online

Bergen County is one of the safest in the country, so says U.S. News and World Report.

The county ranked ninth safest county, the news agency says.

U.S. News and World Report says Bergen County boasts one of the highest public safety records nationwide, with a score of 88.52 and in ensuring access to emergency services, with an average of 84.9% of Populations Living Close the Emergency Facilities, compared to the national average of 37.4%.

“I am incredibly proud of Bergen County for being recognized as one of the safest counties in America,” Bergen County Executive James J. Tedesco III said. “This distinction is thanks to the hard work and dedication of our sheriff’s office, prosecutor’s office, Bergen County EMS, local first responders, community partners and social-service providers. Here, we are committed to offering our residents the highest quality of life possible. By investing in our communities and our emergency response infrastructure, the County of Bergen will continue to be the greatest place in the nation to live, work and raise a family.”

“This recognition is a testament to the unwavering dedication of our first responders and the collective commitment of our entire Bergen County community. Being named one of the safest counties in the nation is a tremendous honor that highlights our relentless focus on public safety and our efforts to ensure every resident benefits from rapid emergency response,” Commissioner Steven Tanelli, of North Arlington, said. “By investing in state-of-the-art training facilities and strengthening our shared service agreements, we are not only safeguarding our community today but also preparing ourselves to meet the challenges of tomorrow.”

Healthiest Communities rankings show how nearly 3,000 U.S. counties perform across 92 metrics in 10 health-related categories and explore the relationships between the many factors that contribute to the overall health and safety of a community.

Main categories in the Healthiest Communities framework include Population Health, Equity, Education, Economy, Housing, Environment, Community Vitality, Infrastructure and Public Safety. In the Public Safety category, communities are scored on a 100-point scale across seven metrics in three key areas: crime, injuries, and public safety capacity.

With ever-changing public safety conditions, the county says it has prioritized the enhancement of its emergency-response capabilities through various innovations and partnerships. Last year, the county celebrated the completion of the Law and Public Safety Institute (LPSI) Modernization Project, which equipped the county’s training center with environments that mimic cross-disciplinary real-world scenarios for firefighters, police officers and EMS workers.

In 2023, the county launched Bergen County’s Emergency Medical Ambulance Services, a 24/7 county wide emergency medical transportation service which has helped fill the steady decline in volunteer ambulance corps across north Jersey.

Earlier this summer, in June, the county’s Public Safety Operations Center (PSOC) —  home to Bergen County 911 Dispatch and Operations — announced it will make its 911 answering service available at no cost to all Bergen County municipalities. By strengthening its shared-service capabilities, the county says it furthers its mission to establish itself as the 911 regional call center for all of Northern New Jersey.

To learn more about how Healthiest Community rankings from U.S. News & World Report are calculated, visit www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/articles/methodology.

Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.

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